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the_readingraven's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? N/A
5.0
“Something began in the dark. I’m talking about my dark now, I’m talking about myself. I’m talking about the feeling of being force-fed fistfuls of dirt by God himself.”
TW: Homophobia, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Rape.
This is such a sad impactful book. This is part autobiography and magical realism, honestly, the magical realism kept me in the story when I felt like I couldn't read much more. I read this with my ears so it was so easy to turn off but I wanted to hear Camila's story of her and the travesties (trans women) living in Argentina.
We follow Camila and other travesties in their lives as sex workers, often facing the brutalities in the world for simply existing and choosing to be their true selves. The violence these women faced is heartbreaking, the only positive is that they have each other. It was so tough for me to get through this book, I took many breaks, some even days to get back into reading. Overall, I am glad that I read it, I am also so happy to look up Camila Sosa Villada and see how great she is doing! She has gone on to do acting and singing as well as writing other work! If they have English translations, I will be interested in reading more from her.
I give all memoirs 5 stars out of respect to the author for their vulnerability.
TW: Homophobia, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Rape.
This is such a sad impactful book. This is part autobiography and magical realism, honestly, the magical realism kept me in the story when I felt like I couldn't read much more. I read this with my ears so it was so easy to turn off but I wanted to hear Camila's story of her and the travesties (trans women) living in Argentina.
We follow Camila and other travesties in their lives as sex workers, often facing the brutalities in the world for simply existing and choosing to be their true selves. The violence these women faced is heartbreaking, the only positive is that they have each other. It was so tough for me to get through this book, I took many breaks, some even days to get back into reading. Overall, I am glad that I read it, I am also so happy to look up Camila Sosa Villada and see how great she is doing! She has gone on to do acting and singing as well as writing other work! If they have English translations, I will be interested in reading more from her.
I give all memoirs 5 stars out of respect to the author for their vulnerability.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child death, Rape, Suicide, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
“Something began in the dark. I’m talking about my dark now, I’m talking about myself. I’m talking about the feeling of being force-fed fistfuls of dirt by God himself.”
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Sena Bryer, who did a fantastic job. I highly recommend that format!
I recently made a video on why I don't need on-page or extremely detailed rape scenes, and while there are post-rape and mentions of rape in this book, they are not gratuitous or exploitative. I genuinely felt like CSV took great care in both forcing the audience to bear witness to the violence that the travestis endured every day by everyone, whether it was by romantic partners, Johns, the police, or simply society at large, AND ensuring to not cause more harm by being unnecessarily graphic.
Through vignettes, we follow Camila from childhood to young adulthood, as she comes into herself and inadvertently finds a new family of sex workers in Sarmiento Park, in the heart of Córdoba, Argentina. She finds care with Auntie Encarna, who is 178 years old, and their home of travestis finds a baby, whom they call "Sparkle in her eye". These women also encounter headless men who return from a war being shunned by society. The magical realism is quite fun, a bit strange, and honestly provided a much-needed levity to a sometimes-heavier narrative. Camila also is both deeply unserious and funny, even though her story does carry so much pain and sadness.
Camila went through so much in this book, from parental abuse, to police manipulation and bribery, to the grief of losing friends to suicide. However, she continues on, and aims to live a truthful existence, rather than hating herself how society wants her to. Though she still experiences deep loss and heartache, Camila's story is one that thoughtfully humanizes people who society wants to villainize and further marginalize.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide
newkgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Camila's semi-autobiographical story of the Travesti sex workers of Cordoba, Argentina is heartbreaking and uplifting, cruel and tender, brutal and soft and it's the story of women who find their family in a city where they are not welcome except by those that seek their companionship during the night for a price.
Auntie Encarna is a 178 year old who loves a headless man back from the war and "adopts" a baby she finds in the bushes, naming him "Twinkle in Her Eye", Maria is a deaf mute that transforms into a bird, and Natali is a she-wolf that requires restraint during the full moon. Each character broken yet strong in their own way.
Auntie Encarna is a 178 year old who loves a headless man back from the war and "adopts" a baby she finds in the bushes, naming him "Twinkle in Her Eye", Maria is a deaf mute that transforms into a bird, and Natali is a she-wolf that requires restraint during the full moon. Each character broken yet strong in their own way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
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