A review by jaclyn_sixminutesforme
Where There Are Monsters by Breanne Mc Ivor

4.0

What a brilliant collection, many thanks to Cindy @bookofcinz for putting this on my radar. This is a collection of contemporary short stories set in Trinidad, and I loved how distinct each story was while still having thematic connections across them. There was a distinctly gothic feel to the collection (some stories venturing into violent realms and cannibalism, for example), and thematically I found the engagement with class and economic divisions, particularly the stories early in the collection, really well explored. The split of this collection into two parts allowed for a really cool interrogation of this theme of “monsters”—those real and walking around communities, and also those within us (thanks for chatting to me about this, Cindy!).
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For me the final story was an absolute stand out—it had one of the most unlikeable characters depicted in the entire book (he truly was a total shit and really creepy!) but I was so mesmerized by the story and what it was exploring thematically about gendered violence and assumptions that we make about people we meet. Highly recommend this collection!