Reviews

Tirana memoria by Moya Horacio Castellanos, Horacio Castellanos Moya

nwiten's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

A very interesting sanpshot of El Salvador in 1944 and the politics of the day.  The main characters, Haydée, provided an interesting juxtaposition between the anxiety one feels when fighting a dictatorship and waiting for family to be released from prison and the everyday little things we do in life. I was not a fan of Clemens, and felt that part of the book was superfluous, at best, or unnecessarily longer than it needed to be.  
I did not like the way this book was advertised - black humour.  I did not find the book every humorous.  I know which parts were meant to be funny, and at times, they were, I guess, but I really didn't find this to be a novel of "pitch dark humour"

alishabbby's review against another edition

2.0

RTC

I will be filming a booktube for Tyrant Memory soon, I will update my review once uploaded next month.

ahundredosnxs's review

adventurous funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

paulap's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

This was an interesting read from El Salvador. The main part of the book is told from two perspectives: the diary of Hedayee, the wife and mother of political activists in El Salvador in the 1940s, trying to remove the Nazi dictator commonly called the Warlock. The other perspective is mostly dialogue between the son and another activist, who are on the run for an attempted coup. I much preferred the diary parts, I could really feel first the worry, then the fear and finally the determination of this woman. I also feel like I learnt quite a lot about El Salvador at that time, and its relation with the surrounding countries. Overall, a worthy read.