trixie_belden's review
It's clever to have written a whole crime thriller in poetry but cleverness was not enough for me. I could not get past the complete lack of plot. The characters are completely unbelievable and the crime investigation makes no sense. Although there are some nice passages, the beauty of the language did not make up for the poor narrative. It's surprisingly quick and easy to read though.
kateeliz's review
2.0
I was unimpressed by this. The verse was clumsy and the plot incredibly underwhelming, especially the ending. I also thought her allusions were way overdone and far too obvious, which was clear from the outset through her rudimentary yet pretentious epigraph. Shame, as The Monkey's Mask is one of my all time favourites.
beeeeonka's review
2.0
I LOVED The Monkey's Mask, but I struggled with El Dorado. I found it difficult to follow the characters for the first 1/4 and found the twists in the plot lacking in actual mystery or suspense.
lisa_setepenre's review
5.0
As a crime story, this is disappointing – the camera is always slightly off to the side of the crime and its solving, focusing on the people solving these crimes and their relationships instead. Yet it's still an utterly amazing piece of writing. I don't have the words to explain how marvellous Dorothy Porter's writing is.
siennarose's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Most of the time, my reading interests are particularly niche. Maybe it's growing up with so many younger siblings, or maybe it's being an emerging social worker, but nothing captures my interest quite like missing or murdered children. Harming kids goes against our most basic evolutionary instincts. I'll never understand it, and as such I’ll never cease to be fascinated and horrified.
Dorothy Porter gave me my first introduction to novels in verse through The Monkey’s Mask, and when I found out she had another, I immediately bought it.
El Dorado plays with themes of innocence, youth, and the futility of aging. It also explores themes of sexuality, desire, and the line between art and obscenity. There is also a conversation about the assumption of impropriety between adults and children. The issue is framed in such a way that suggests people are too quick to accuse or assume wrong doing. There are even some throw away lines like ”now days he'd be charged with a sex crime”. I wonder if this is a reflection of Porters true thoughts.
In reality though, whether you're a mandated reported or not, I’d rather be careful, but wrong, than let a predator slip through the cracks.
Fantastic book.
Dorothy Porter gave me my first introduction to novels in verse through The Monkey’s Mask, and when I found out she had another, I immediately bought it.
El Dorado plays with themes of innocence, youth, and the futility of aging. It also explores themes of sexuality, desire, and the line between art and obscenity. There is also a conversation about the assumption of impropriety between adults and children. The issue is framed in such a way that suggests people are too quick to accuse or assume wrong doing. There are even some throw away lines like ”now days he'd be charged with a sex crime”. I wonder if this is a reflection of Porters true thoughts.
In reality though, whether you're a mandated reported or not, I’d rather be careful, but wrong, than let a predator slip through the cracks.
Fantastic book.
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