Reviews

Made in Saturn by Rita Indiana

readingthebacklist's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hecho en Saturno reminded me of Radicales Libres by Rosa Beltran in that radical leaders/ideology is demystified. As with Rita Indiana’s Tentacle, art is an important aspect of the story. Goya’s Saturn Devouring his Son is referenced often as is the adage made famous by the French Revolution, like Saturn, the revolution devours its children. The former revolutionaries, have shed the ideology now that they stand to benefit from their place in the political hierarchy. 

 

I liked the concept of a recovering heroin addict serving as conduit between the story and the reader, his disillusionment and pliant manner lend a fragmented and dreamy quality to the narrative. Argenis, though often unlikeable and shiftless, also aroused sympathy in me. For me this novel felt more accessible than the author’s previous novel, Tentacle. 

anaurrutia's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 No es el tipo de historia que me gusta, pero está muy bien escrita y tiene un humor muy especial con el que conecté... Además me habló de asuntos varios que relaciono con mis padres y los de algunos conocidos... Interesante librito, pienso. Y bueno, no entendí por qué tiene una etiqueta LGBT porque aunque sí hay un personaje del colectivo y un par de referencias a otros dos, no es ese el tema que trata y el personaje no está en eso, en fin... criterios diferentes. 

merry_bryson's review

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

human_the_fourth's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

apolasky's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bekahbeth's review

5.0

A book of fits and starts, aimless and steady, invoking apparitions and drugged sensations. Reading it felt like being completely immersed in an interminable afternoon like slow-moving lava, caught in the afterglow of any number of explosions.

greeniezona's review

3.5

I wonder if I would have enjoyed this book more if I had loved Tentacle less, or if this had been the first book by Indiana that I read. Tentacle was one of my favorite reads of 2019 -- so breathtakingly bonkers with time travel, climate collapse, magical anemones, art theory/criticism/history, class & gender criticism... That book could barely be contained. Made in Saturn keeps just enough of some of the themes, particularly the history and language of art, and the legacy of colonialism and revolution in the Caribbean to feel like the work of the same author, but with all of the speculative elements stripped away and a rather dislikable narrator. (Many of the characters in Tentacle weren't terribly likable either, but with so much going on, it mattered less.) In the end it had interesting things to say, but I can't help hoping Indiana's future books contain more of the wild exuberance of Tentacle.

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I am not going to lie, I didn't like it. 
It was fragmented, between the chapters things happened that were never mentioned and superficial, none of the characters, nor even the protagonist, had enough depth. I just kept reading to see how it would end, but the end was just as disjointed as the rest of the book. 

cwgrieves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sometimesleelynnreads's review

Full review and others on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads

I’d love to listen to an audiobook version of this in Spanish. Even if I won’t be able to understand everything that’s being said, I feel like it would be more meaningful and more emotional being told that way. I truly felt like I didn’t have the full experience like I was supposed to because I wasn’t able to read it the way it was intended to. And unfortunately, that meant that I wasn’t able to give the rating that I think it should have had. While I don’t think that 3-star ratings are good or bad, I do feel like 3-star ratings can be seen as more negative to a lot of people that just rely on ratings more than reviews.

I say that I hope you take the time to read other reviews of this novel, hopefully from those that read this story in its original format, to truly get a feel for how it was, and take my review as a grain of salt. So while I’ll include a rating on my post, I won’t put a rating on Goodreads so it doesn’t negatively impact the current rating on there since there’s already so little ratings to begin with.