mgerboc's reviews
278 reviews

The Feast Of The Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A gut punch of a book.  An historical fiction set in a few different eras (the end of Trujillo-era Dominican Republic, reminiscences of earlier years in the regime, and in the mid-late-90's) and told from varying perspectives (fictionalized Urania Cabral, Trujillo himself, and the actual individuals involved in his assassination) reflects on the nature of authoritarianism, power, machismo, and sex in a pretty devastating way.

Vargas Llosa (himself a somewhat controversial figure) does an incredible job of stripping away the veneer of the cult of personality surrounding Rafael Trujillo, exposing him for the power-seeking pig that he was, and demonstrating the spineless sycophancy of the supposed greatest minds of the nation surrounding him during his reign of terror.  After time, the consolidation of power, backed by the threat of horrendous and violent reprisals, casts the focus of that power into an ever-devolving state of self-righteousness and easy justification for all actions because there are no consequences.

I think what was done superbly well was the telling of the small, individual stories of the victims of this system, and the long-lasting effects it had (and still has) on people.  This sort of corruption is not only political and economic, but emotional and spiritual.

About halfway through you figure out how it's going to end, and it's no less heartbreaking for that.  The narrative structure allows for a taught, dread-inducing story that makes the reader (or at least me) think - what kind of system do I live in and how does it shape who I am?

Anyway, if you're a fan of historical fiction, Cold War politics, Latin American history, drama, reflections on family/power/sex, etc., definitely give this a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Torture

Spy x Family, Vol. 6 by Tatsuya Endo

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.25

Spy x Family, Vol. 5 by Tatsuya Endo

funny lighthearted

3.25

Spy x Family, Vol. 4 by Tatsuya Endo

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

Spy x Family, Vol. 3 by Tatsuya Endo

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 by Tatsuya Endo

funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Toll The Hounds by Steven Erikson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Couldn’t have been a more perfect ending. I love this series so much and the final installment was basically perfect. Thank you Fonda Lee for writing something so goddamn good.

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3.75 stars - I liked this more than the previous two books. I think there was a heaviness to this one, with higher personal stakes for Dresden, so I cared more. I also thought there was a deeper exploration of the magic involved and the alternate spirit realm that exists alongside our day to day, which I liked. Still not my favorite series, but there was a marked improvement in this book.