Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Cuatro Por Cuatro

I picked this up from the library because I thought the cover looked sick, but I was surprised that I really enjoyed this book. From the moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Sara Mesa does a damn good job of writing flawed characters.

I also enjoyed the main theme of this story being the cycle of abuse and the power dynamics between the powerful and powerless. Like the fact that in Ignacio's development, he goes from being bullied abused to someone who bullies and abuses others. It's morally wrong, and his actions are not at all okay, but seeing what Héctor did to him, I can see how he ended up this way. The kids in this story are all victims of the adults, whether that be direct or indirect. The colich masquerades as being a school that strives for greatness and prowess, while also being sympathetic with the student's needs and concerns. In actuality, it's the adults, who have the power and who are supposed to be there for the children, who take advantage of their blind loyalty.

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I don't know too much about the historical context of this book, but based on my impressions after my first read I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys flawed characters and dark themes. Mesa is not one to shy away from graphic details, but I think they're intentional.

One critique I have of the writing has to be the way fatphobia is baked into the character's way of speech. It doesn't feel specific to one person, but I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but I just found it interesting how in detail Mesa went into describing someone who was considered fat.

Content Warnings

gzaborski's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

While I was prepared to dislike this book after read the extremely dark and brutal first section, the second and third parts of this book proved that the (at times heavy-handed and hard-to-read) topics of exploitation could be used to show the ways power and corruption perpetrate each other in a society that refuses to condemn the actions of the powerful.
While I do think this story could have been told with the events having not been so extremely brutal, and for some, triggering, I understand why the author made the choices to write the book the way she did. The final section concludes the story well, but is a bit repetitive alongside the continued discussion of those same issues in section two. Would recommend, but only after considering trigger warnings and being extremely aware of what one is getting into.

Content Warnings