A review by michaelion
The Tattooed Soldier by Héctor Tobar

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The ONLY flaw is the writing style. Not the writing, because even still it’s so poetic and beautiful, but the delivery could’ve been done better.

AND STILL, the book is so good I was like there’s no way I can give this anything less than 5 stars. As an honorary Latina by both nature and nurture, and my studies into Mesoamerican and Central American history, there are so many layers to this book that made me talk about it on the phone with my best friend for no less than two hours. This book should be studied! It really has it all. It's a lot like a movie / film. I know my perspective as a Californian is always gonna be close to Mexicans and other people from the Northern Triangle but I've heard stories like this before and I've seen these movies and it's heartbreaking how universal it is. Like sure not everyones story but too many peoples story. And Tobar found a way to make to into almost perfect literature. A timeless classic. It’s just so so beautiful and I try to keep my reviews short but I really could talk about this ALL day.
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