Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Hündin

The title is quite devious and we get a very close look at Damaris and her Dog.
The descriptions of the jungle and sea are fantastic, it sets you there .
This is a complex, complicated and emotional take.

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ana_reads's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

This story is really brutal and sad. The writing is quite good, very straightforward and direct which adds a lot to the harshness of all the scenes. Definitely not for animal lovers, the brutality with which the dogs are treated is really abhorent. Even with thematic relevance, it's still hard to read.

I was quite sad for Damaris and Rogelio's relationship, there are little moments were you can see glimmers of a happier relationship for them and it's sad that it's never realized. Watching Damaris succum to jealously and saddness and the butter grief of her infertiy was also quite hard. She goes from being somewhat sympathetic to just. definitely not that so quickly it's almost startling.

Overall, despite the good writing, the story left me feeling mostly empty. That was probably the point, to just explore the violence and harshness of life in Damaris' town, but it was unsatifying. Maybe with a more definitive ending, there could be a bit more closure that could maybe make it a more satisfying story. It felt like something more should happen at the end if the book and without that final confrontation, the harshness of the rest of the novel was just sad and nothing else.

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

3.75

This was such a fascinating and disturbing read, especially in the way it reframes what motherhood can look like. The protagonist, Damaris, is a childless woman who adopts a stray female dog that she cares for like a human child to the point of obsession. While this sounds charming, the book is anything but, as it dives into the question of what it means to be a mother (and even what it means to be a bitch), as well as the deep issues that Damaris projects onto the dog that leads to terrible events.

Quintana doesn't shy away from describing the uglier aspects of human nature, such as the way jealousy, insecurity, and anger can consume us entirely. As a result, The Bitch definitely reads as more ruthless to the point of some probably finding the book completely cruel. Much to think about, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart (nor would it be a book I'd recommend for animal lovers, especially dog lovers). I didn't love or hate this, and if there's one complaint I have, it's that I wish some ideas were fleshed out a bit more.

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