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mmoonlight's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
That was a great choice of a novel for a horror-related book club.
It was unsettling, intriguing, disorienting, very strange, and that mix really worked for me. The style of writing, and the way it constantly underlined how the main character was running out of time, inspired uneasiness, dread, and anxiety, especially since throughout most of the novella the main character wasn't aware of what she's supposed to be looking out for.
Another thing I enjoyed about the story was that, because I wasn't exactly sure what was happening, I assume it can be read in any way the reader likes: is it a supernatural horror story? Is it psychological horror? Is it magical realism? Is it an environmental horror? Is it a story about a mother experiencing anxiety and some sort of mental illness? It can be all of them, it can be none of them, it can be something else altogether. What I am sure of is that it certainly did read like a fever dream.
My only real complain is about the ending. I found it to be confusing and a bit anticlimactic, considering the pace of the rest of the story. It felt too abrupt.
But other than that? I really enjoyed the novella, and it's definitely worth of checking out.
It was unsettling, intriguing, disorienting, very strange, and that mix really worked for me. The style of writing, and the way it constantly underlined how the main character was running out of time, inspired uneasiness, dread, and anxiety, especially since throughout most of the novella the main character wasn't aware of what she's supposed to be looking out for.
Another thing I enjoyed about the story was that, because I wasn't exactly sure what was happening, I assume it can be read in any way the reader likes: is it a supernatural horror story? Is it psychological horror? Is it magical realism? Is it an environmental horror? Is it a story about a mother experiencing anxiety and some sort of mental illness? It can be all of them, it can be none of them, it can be something else altogether. What I am sure of is that it certainly did read like a fever dream.
My only real complain is about the ending. I found it to be confusing and a bit anticlimactic, considering the pace of the rest of the story. It felt too abrupt.
But other than that? I really enjoyed the novella, and it's definitely worth of checking out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism and Grief
Minor: Stalking
feelincelestial's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A very tense and tragic novella. I finished it in a couple hours and enjoyed the feverish unease of the narrative. As someone with a lot of anxiety about the safety of my loved ones, that feeling of realizing you’ve prepared for every threat except the real one hits close to home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Miscarriage
biobeetle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Ableism
hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Such a quick read with a lot happening (hence the title), thought I’d somehow missed stuff. I understand the author pulled inspiration from the very real consequences of harmful pesticides being used in Argentina but I didn’t like the way the disabled children were written about in this. It just felt off and I can’t quite put my finger on it on the exact reason. The ending was heartbreaking though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse
morgue666's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Can’t help but think watching the movie before reading the book helped in some way but hindered in others. I imagine this is much more impactful when read by people in Argentina where they can read between the lines a little more and infer about the impact of pesticides as this is environmental horror very clearly linked to Argentina’s current climate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Death of parent
eatyourenglish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Animal death
f18's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Ableism and Medical content
pyreghost's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse
dustghosts's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Medical trauma
clara_mai's review against another edition
4.0
Passend zum Titel der englischen Übersetzung (ich habe die deutsche namens "Das Gift" gelesen), würde ich diesen kurzen Roman der Kategorie Fiebertraum-Horror zuordnen. Ein geniales Buch; spannend, surreal und beunruhigend. Die Nutzung von giftigen Pestiziden in Argentinien als Element des Horrors anzuwenden auch ein brillianter Zug der Autorin. Sehr gut aus dem argentinischen Spanisch ins Deutsche übersetzt von Marianne Gareis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Ableism and Body horror