Reviews with content warning for Violence - A jeśli jesteśmy złoczyńcami

Solo estábamos nosotros: nosotros siete y los árboles y el lago y la luna y, por supuesto, Shakespeare. Él vivía con nosotros como un octavo compañero de piso, un amigo más viejo y sabio, perpetuamente fuera de vista, pero siempre presente en nuestra mente, como si acabara de salir de la habitación. «Poderosa es la fuerza de la poesía celestial».

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augustrogue's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I was so hyped for this book and truly wanted to love it - unfortunately, while it had a few fleeting moments of some very lovely prose, it ended up feeling like a bit of a pretentious mess. Multiple, long scenes that were basically play-by-plays of Shakespearean stage productions. Inexplicable switches into script-style dialogue that disrupts the flow terribly: (not from the book, just an example)

Meredith: "Where did Alexander go?"
Me: "I don’t know."
Wren: "I'm worried about him."

...and then switches back just as abruptly, like it forgot it wasn't a screenplay for a second. Scenes that end abruptly for poetic/dramatic effect and then don't adequately explain what happened next. And I wanted a lot *more* of a relationship dynamic that was only lightly explored in the last 10% or so of the book.

The thing is, I actually *like* Shakespeare, quite a bit. The course I took on his plays was one of my favorites in university, and I still have a Complete Works anthology on my bookshelf. But I don't know, this book just made me roll my eyes a lot. At least the author acknowledges that the characters talking to each other in rapid-fire Shakespeare quotes about mundane things like they're ye olde Gilmore Girls (my own analogy, not hers) *is* super pretentious, in her ending notes. This book is for someone, maybe, but for the most part, it's not for me.

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jaduhluhdabooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

I mean. I’m still reeling in complicated and convoluted ways. Like. What. Rio is meticulous in their writing in a way that doesn’t necessarily need all the details to tell the story. There’s raw emotional attachment to these words and I felt them in each of the characters displays.

I think this novel is crafty and intriguing and new in a rich way. I also think it showcases a side of classical education that many (usually rich white folx) fail to acknowledge. It also is just devastating to watch these characters grapple with their inner most struggles and insecurities and repeatedly make the choice to shield them rather than heal them.

The ending. Ouch. But I should’ve seen it coming. Romeo and Juliet, makes sense and then also… is the show still going on? If you know, you know. It’s beautifully written and pretentiously told with its cracks and crinkles of the characters lives and the connection found in these relationships but also the revelation. It’s just a wild book. Semi intense in its themes, but ultimately a good read and of course a questioning end.

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