shanviolinlove's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second Aridjis novel after reading her quietly mesmerizing novel Asunder last year. Both novels feature a young woman (Sea Monsters' protagonist is a high school teen) navigating a soft-spoken existence of oddities and creature comforts before embarking on a journey that would shake up this otherwise placid life. In Luisa's case, the departure is more pronounced, as she absconds from school with a teenage crush she barely knows, to spend a few aimless days on a Oaxacan beach. Her proposed goals are far-fetched, to say the least; it is clear from the get-go that Luisa, however thoughtful and philosophical her interior thoughts run, propels herself into situations she does not fully understand. A romantic--careful to distinguish that she is too young yet to know which type of unrealistic romantic she is--she is governed by fantasies, the sort we easily project onto others, only to resent when the illusion fades and we see in disappointment or horror what is really there. Luisa craves thrill and mystery very typical for a young person at the hinge of adventure, but the thrill is always adjacent to her. She is constantly immersed in the company of others (mostly males) who live odd, sad lives, but to her these are thrilling trajectories, because they are chosen. And so her choice, to go to Oaxaca, is also at first a grand adventure, because it is hers. But as time transpires and one day melds into the next, she is faced with a more sobering reality. It is a poignant study on the loss of innocence, so to speak, although I wish the final chapter had focused more on her and less on a side character whose attention to his own narrative seemed a bit misplaced. Gorgeously, evocatively written.
keelinreads's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
tuinmuur's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
leanadezutter's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
betweenbookends's review against another edition
3.5/5
And so begins this book that read like the waking hour from a lucid dream. A story tinged on the outer fringes with little oddities, and absurdities, but never quite straying into the realm of magical realism. Set in the blinding sunlit dusty streets of Mexico, Sea Monsters is a contemporary, off-beat story of a 17-year-old teenager, Luisa, who one day, decides to run away from home with a boy she only barely knows but is deeply infatuated with. No, it's not a love story. Far from it.
Sea Monsters isn't really about the plot or the characters. Rather it paints an intoxicating portrait of Mexican youth culture in the late 1990's, a slice of life story following two adolescents in the cusp of feigned maturity. It's narrated in the first person from Luisa's perspective but surprisingly you don't quite uncover her character all that well. There's a careless spontaneity to the narrative voice that feels both intimate and yet distanced.
It's stunningly written. Moments of utterly, breathtaking prose. The premise had immense potential, but somehow it never completely came to fruition. It felt lacking in depth in some respect. The motives of the different characters, the reasons behind their decisions never quite evident, so the story seemed to float on the surface, with the faintest logical thread holding it together. And that is the only complaint of significance that I have against this book. Towards the end there's this one line of self-introspection, that really is the same question that I, as the reader was asking as well.
Despite my criticism, I still really liked it and would recommend it. The atmosphere, the heat and relentless rains of Mexico, the ocean and all its vastness and the monsters that lurk deep beneath the waters, Zipolite, the beach of the dead, all come rivetingly alive on the page. The writing keeps you dumbfounded and guessing to an end that is maybe a little too neatly tied.
Imprisoned on this island, I would say, Imprisoned on this island. And yet I was no prisoner and this was no island.
And so begins this book that read like the waking hour from a lucid dream. A story tinged on the outer fringes with little oddities, and absurdities, but never quite straying into the realm of magical realism. Set in the blinding sunlit dusty streets of Mexico, Sea Monsters is a contemporary, off-beat story of a 17-year-old teenager, Luisa, who one day, decides to run away from home with a boy she only barely knows but is deeply infatuated with. No, it's not a love story. Far from it.
Sea Monsters isn't really about the plot or the characters. Rather it paints an intoxicating portrait of Mexican youth culture in the late 1990's, a slice of life story following two adolescents in the cusp of feigned maturity. It's narrated in the first person from Luisa's perspective but surprisingly you don't quite uncover her character all that well. There's a careless spontaneity to the narrative voice that feels both intimate and yet distanced.
It's stunningly written. Moments of utterly, breathtaking prose. The premise had immense potential, but somehow it never completely came to fruition. It felt lacking in depth in some respect. The motives of the different characters, the reasons behind their decisions never quite evident, so the story seemed to float on the surface, with the faintest logical thread holding it together. And that is the only complaint of significance that I have against this book. Towards the end there's this one line of self-introspection, that really is the same question that I, as the reader was asking as well.
Why Luisa? A question, an event, compressed into a fist, like a sentence compressed into an apostrophe that when released springs back to its original form.
Despite my criticism, I still really liked it and would recommend it. The atmosphere, the heat and relentless rains of Mexico, the ocean and all its vastness and the monsters that lurk deep beneath the waters, Zipolite, the beach of the dead, all come rivetingly alive on the page. The writing keeps you dumbfounded and guessing to an end that is maybe a little too neatly tied.
icecreamemperor's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
chloew94's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
libluv's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5