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A review by dianahincureads
Brickmakers by Selva Almada
dark
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Marciano Miranda and Pájaro Tamai are dying in an amusement park under a foreboding white sky. Starting with its climax, the novel retraces their families’ history and the moments that led to the tragedy. Past and present intertwine, memories and the cruel finality of death.
Selva Almada masterfully shows the catastrophic consequences toxic masculinity has on men, especially those in the making, little boys that mirror their fathers. Becoming a man through cruelty and disruption, through the brutal suppression of one’s feelings (and, consequently, one’s humanity), through heterosexuality. Being unsuccessful fitting this narrow and toxic definition leads to conflict. Marciano and Pájaro are trapped, shaped by their parents’ mistakes and environment. They pay for it with their lives.
The women in this novel are not depicted as victims. They are strong and resourceful. However, they have incorporated all sorts of survival mechanisms to avoid triggering the men in their lives (such as “unobtrusively, so as not to hurt his pride, Celina had begun to take charge of the brickworks”).
Almada’s writing is incredibly effective. Accurate in its simplicity, every word reverberates with meaning. The author constructs the portrait of a rural community with two rival families (better said, the rivalry of the two fathers). The result is a realistic LGBTQ+ Romeo and Juliet, a mixture of trauma and faith.
Selva Almada masterfully shows the catastrophic consequences toxic masculinity has on men, especially those in the making, little boys that mirror their fathers. Becoming a man through cruelty and disruption, through the brutal suppression of one’s feelings (and, consequently, one’s humanity), through heterosexuality. Being unsuccessful fitting this narrow and toxic definition leads to conflict. Marciano and Pájaro are trapped, shaped by their parents’ mistakes and environment. They pay for it with their lives.
The women in this novel are not depicted as victims. They are strong and resourceful. However, they have incorporated all sorts of survival mechanisms to avoid triggering the men in their lives (such as “unobtrusively, so as not to hurt his pride, Celina had begun to take charge of the brickworks”).
Almada’s writing is incredibly effective. Accurate in its simplicity, every word reverberates with meaning. The author constructs the portrait of a rural community with two rival families (better said, the rivalry of the two fathers). The result is a realistic LGBTQ+ Romeo and Juliet, a mixture of trauma and faith.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death