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eva_k's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? N/A
2.0
2,5 rounded down
This book started out so promising and it has a decent writing style that sets an interesting melancholic tone, but it simply turned out to be too long for what it had to say. It had too many side plots that did not end up being important to the main storyline and I believe they even disturbed a more natural flow of the story. Especially from the perspective of the main plot, it especially bothered me that the story that was supposed to follow Manuel's grief and acceptance of Alvaro's death got so entangled with other unimportant things that his own feelings for Alvaro were somehow cast to the side in my opinion (or, rather, they ended up repeating themselves without a very satsfying progression or conclusion. Redondo could have focused on it much more than on some of the other less important themes of the story).
Regarding the plot itself, I found myself very unsettled by Noguiera's backstory (which was simply an unnecessary and an unwelcome addition - why would I want to feel sympathy for a character that raped his wife but then made amends with her? That was a complete hit and miss, the dispute between him and his wife could have been absolutely anything other than the wife ultimately forgiving a man who abused her). Nogueira was also unnecessarily homophobic towards Manuel at the beginning, but then he has a drunken confession that he doesn't know why he had a problem with gay people and that Manuel opened his eyes to him that gay people are pretty decent and not worthy of disrespect actually (this happens directly after they beat up some random homophobes together - which, yes, is a very random scene to appear in the book and it's not connected to the plot at all. Not to mention a little cringey, it was awkward reading it).
I hope it's not too big of a spoiler, but I think it's good to mention that this book definitely falls victim to the "bury your gay" trope, and the queerness of the characters felt like a plot device most of the time (I don't feel like going deeper into this, nor do I think I can because of spoilers. But the handling of queer characters definitely had "straight author that didn't do much research into good quality representation" written all over it). So, I wouldn't exactly recommend it as the pinnacle of queer representation if anyone is looking to read it with this expectation.
This book started out so promising and it has a decent writing style that sets an interesting melancholic tone, but it simply turned out to be too long for what it had to say. It had too many side plots that did not end up being important to the main storyline and I believe they even disturbed a more natural flow of the story. Especially from the perspective of the main plot, it especially bothered me that the story that was supposed to follow Manuel's grief and acceptance of Alvaro's death got so entangled with other unimportant things that his own feelings for Alvaro were somehow cast to the side in my opinion (or, rather, they ended up repeating themselves without a very satsfying progression or conclusion. Redondo could have focused on it much more than on some of the other less important themes of the story).
Regarding the plot itself, I found myself very unsettled by Noguiera's backstory (which was simply an unnecessary and an unwelcome addition - why would I want to feel sympathy for a character that raped his wife but then made amends with her? That was a complete hit and miss, the dispute between him and his wife could have been absolutely anything other than the wife ultimately forgiving a man who abused her). Nogueira was also unnecessarily homophobic towards Manuel at the beginning, but then he has a drunken confession that he doesn't know why he had a problem with gay people and that Manuel opened his eyes to him that gay people are pretty decent and not worthy of disrespect actually (this happens directly after they beat up some random homophobes together - which, yes, is a very random scene to appear in the book and it's not connected to the plot at all. Not to mention a little cringey, it was awkward reading it).
I hope it's not too big of a spoiler, but I think it's good to mention that this book definitely falls victim to the "bury your gay" trope, and the queerness of the characters felt like a plot device most of the time (I don't feel like going deeper into this, nor do I think I can because of spoilers. But the handling of queer characters definitely had "straight author that didn't do much research into good quality representation" written all over it). So, I wouldn't exactly recommend it as the pinnacle of queer representation if anyone is looking to read it with this expectation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
tctimlin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Despite a slow start and wondering whether I could find anything of interest in this story set in Spain about an author dealing with the mysterious death of his husband, I am so glad I stayed with it. Excellent story with mystery, history, beautiful landscapes, unexpected villains, and a wonderful partnership among the author, a priest, and a retired cop, as they search for the truth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Murder
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