Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Human Sacrifices by María Fernanda Ampuero

6 reviews

ssinforshort's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

 What a gorgeous, unsettling, heart-wrenching collection of stories. This book won't be for the faint of heart; it contains a tremendous amount of difficult content and is layered with endless metaphors for rape culture, colonization, racism, and more — but if you feel comfortable taking it on, it will be well worth your time.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

Certainly a book full of violent stories. I wanted a lot of them as full, stand alone books! But there were definitely some flat stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, and Infidelity

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Classism

tw for necrophilia didn’t think I’d ever have to say that 😐

doomluz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

Creepy, disturbing, and sad short stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia and Pedophilia

Minor: Infertility

carumens's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, and Grief

danidamico's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

3.5

"Aprendí muy chica a no importunar al hombre enojado, al hombre bebido, al hombre desconocido, al hombre".

El año pasado leí Pelea de Gallos, el primer libro de cuentos de la ecuatoriana Ampuero, y me encantó. Entró en mis mejores diez lecturas del 2020. Estaba muy emocionada por leer Sacrificios humanos y, si bien tiene algunos cuentos geniales (lo cual ya es un gran logro), no me gustó tanto como esperaba. Mi impresión personal es que Pelea de Gallos, a pesar de tener imágenes realmente fuertes e impactantes, contenía un mayor nivel de ambigüedad y sutileza que esta nueva antología. Los textos me resultaron repetitivos y algo toscos en su ejecución, no se deja nada a la interpretación, todo está servido en una bandeja y sobreexplicado. Además todos los cuentos parecen narrados por el mismo personaje, no hay ningún tipo de variación en el registro, estilo, musicalidad, de ahí que se me hiciera reiterativo; por momentos era como leer la misma historia una y otra vez.

"La violencia era la única constante en su vida".

De todos modos, como anticipé, hay relatos que sí me gustaron: Invasiones, Hermanita, Biografía, Silba, Lorena y Pietà. Me pareció interesante que Ampuero adoptara la voz de mujeres inmigrantes, empleadas domésticas y niñas marginadas. Y también me parece importantísimo el hecho de que escriba sobre violencia de género, eso es algo que aprecio mucho sobre su trabajo. Su uso de lo monstruoso, de lo que la sociedad considera monstruoso, siempre está muy bien logrado.

En fin, creo que igual merece la pena leerlo porque tiene mucho para rescatar y valorar, sobre todo si les gustan Mariana Enriquez, Fernanda Melchor, Mónica Ojeda y toda esa camada de escritoras latinoamericanas.

"Recuerdo que alguien me dijo que las estrellas que vemos llevan mucho tiempo muertas y pienso que ojalá así refulgieran las desaparecidas, con esa misma luz cegadora, para que sea más fácil encontrarlas".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Murder