Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Temporada de huracanes by Fernanda Melchor

51 reviews

ceco_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I struggled to write a review that would do this book justice. If you have the time, I recommend you read M John Harrison and Anthony Cummin's reviews (both published by the Guardian). 

In short, this is a brutal book and it's not going to be for everyone. The reading experience is shocking, repulsive, but its lingering effect is profound. 

A local Witch is found dead, throat slit, floating in a canal. What follows is a whirlwind exploration of life in a rural Mexican town - its constricting familial relations, sexual violence, and deadly masculinity. 

Besides the 'bookending' chapters that function as an introduction and conclusion, each chapter of Hurricane Season is a different character's "retelling" of the circumstances of the murder. I use quotation marks because, truthfully, it's less of a retelling and more of a character study showcasing that person's life, motivations and anxieties, with clues to the Witch's death threaded in between, leaving the reader to piece together what happened and why certain events were interpreted in a particular way. 

It's undoubtedly a challenging read, but one that will stick with me for a long time. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Police brutality, and Murder

s4ily's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Abortion, Murder, and Abandonment

klwooster's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Abortion, Murder, and Alcohol

savvylit's review against another edition

I really enjoyed the feverish writing style of Hurricane Season. Run-on sentences, huge paragraphs... it all felt claustrophobic in a way that I loved. At least, at first. However, after sitting through some intense rape scenes, pedophilia, misogyny, and homophobia, I thought it couldn't get any worse. By the time a character started having elaborate fantasies involving bestiality, I had to throw the towel in and give up. The depravity of Hurricane Season simply became too much for me to bear.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Abortion, and Murder

marija99's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Pregnancy

unboxedjack's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

george_tte's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

Un libro terrorífico, incómodo y espectacular. Vale la pena leerlo porque Melchor es una maestra y este libro lo demuestra con facilidad. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

mjollthelionness's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

eldioslumin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Murder

motherofbears's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

4.25

Written in stream of consciousness with shifting points of view. I felt like each character took a turn sitting down and telling their story while chain smoking and drinking. There are no reliable narrators, the story is told like a small town legend. Casually devastating at times. 

I would say this is a challenging read, especially for someone not used to the writing style, but also because of the subject matter. All the trigger warnings, really. 

It will stay with me for a while. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy