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A review by mayphoenix7992
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3,75⭐️
It was such a nice book, although I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who isn't familiar with the history of the invasion of Mexico-Tenochtitlan by the Conquistadores because it was occasionally difficult to keep up (being sick while reading it probably didnt help).
I'm not a fan of the indirect dialogue the entire novel, but it was effective in building the impression of a tale rather than a story, especially with the ending that accelerated in the history that was a dream and the alternate history which wasn't one.
I really liked what the author did with Malinelli, giving her more agency without quite knowing who she was working for, but in the end, she did everything for her own survival. I also liked Atotoxtli who was an interesting character.
The scene when Cortès shines his boots with what is revealed to be human fat, in parallel with the prayer and the flashback on *how* he got the human fat was quite horrifying and it'll probably follow me for a while.
It was such a nice book, although I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who isn't familiar with the history of the invasion of Mexico-Tenochtitlan by the Conquistadores because it was occasionally difficult to keep up (being sick while reading it probably didnt help).
I'm not a fan of the indirect dialogue the entire novel, but it was effective in building the impression of a tale rather than a story, especially with the ending that accelerated in the history that was a dream and the alternate history which wasn't one.
I really liked what the author did with Malinelli, giving her more agency without quite knowing who she was working for, but in the end, she did everything for her own survival. I also liked Atotoxtli who was an interesting character.
The scene when Cortès shines his boots with what is revealed to be human fat, in parallel with the prayer and the flashback on *how* he got the human fat was quite horrifying and it'll probably follow me for a while.