A review by helloroci
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

5.0

Told in four unforgettable POVs, Monstrilio begins so tenderly and absurdly. As the novel goes on it becomes so unexpectedly dark and beautiful. Dealing with the difficult intersections of family dynamics and chosen family, loyalty, what we owe the people in our life, loss + grief and the allowances we permit loved ones and ourselves because of it. What if our grief became a living thing? The novel never feels rushed and every character feels fully developed and whole. Though brutal, the body horror and gore is carefully chosen and placed. It is surprisingly touching, sentimental, and universal in many ways. Not what I expected, but haunting, delightfully queer, fascinating and devastating. I would read anything Córdova writes in the future.