Reviews

American Delirium by Betina González

mghnhill's review against another edition

I don't know, I was confused listening to this about who the characters were and I couldn't keep track of who was who and how old they were. It was weird and just not for me.

montyroz's review against another edition

mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.0

reneereads's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

tdf645's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

_soraya_pl's review against another edition

1.0

If I had read the reviews on here before checking it out from the library it would’ve never come home with me.

I was excited ending chapter 1 because the writing is chaotic and I thought that would keep me enticed. But trust the reviews because you’ll have no idea when you’re switching between the 3 characters. Apparently this book is a think piece on capitalism in America but I thought it was about random people in a town with deer killing people for some reason [the reason is a mystery plant].

Unfortunately, you should skip this read.

breadandmushrooms's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

virginiamcc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

yeller's review against another edition

4.0

This book doesn't have a conclusion in the strictest terms. There is no neatly tied bow of plot points or a conclusion to the conflicts that have been woven throughout the short novel. Instead, the book concludes with a few moments of clarity that tie the three disparate conflicts together and leave a still ambiguous ending that implies a semi-happy ending is possible.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a little bizarre, which I enjoy, but I wish we'd dive deeper into the mysteries the novel creates, such as Gabi and albaria. It does feel a bit like the story wasn't quite taken to its conclusion.

However, this book gets points if only because the writing is absolutely beautiful. On page 4, there is the best description of chronic pain I've ever seen and there were several times I had to take a breath and set the book down because the writing was just that good.

tinamayreads's review against another edition

4.0

AMERICAN DELIRIUM by Betina González translated by Heather Cleary is so good and funny! This is an intricate novel with a lot going on and I really enjoyed it! There’s three interconnected storylines. Senior citizen, Beryl, begins to train her fellow retirees to hunt deer to stop the deer from attacking people. Berenice, a young girl abandoned by her mother, tries to find her place in the world. Museum taxidermist, Vik, has to deal with a woman he discovers living in his closet. Their stories intertwined around this mysterious hallucinogenic plant and this whole book was a trip! I loved how the characters were so diverse spanning a large age range and living on the fringes of society. This book is so surreal and unique!
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Thank you to Henry Holt and Company for my advance review copy!

3thingsaboutthisbook's review against another edition

3.0

I would have enjoyed this book probably more than I did now, if I were to pay full attention to it. It's not the book's fault; it's all mine. I just had hard time to be pulled into this storyline. Each chapter has 3 different PoV that are somewhat related but may or may not be obvious at the beginning. I enjoyed 3 different PoVs on their own; however, I missed what should have been an aha! moment connecting 3.

Each PoV has something to do with this hallucinogen called albaria. Apparently it causes this out of body experience for people who try it. One of the stories talks about a taxidermist who never tried albaria but had first hand experience of what it could do to people and/or animals. The other story talks about a lady and her friends who take it to themselves to reduce deer population in this particular woods. And the last story is about these people who decided to live in woods, consuming albaria.

Again, I would have enjoyed this story, if I could stay focused. But I think it has a different premise than most of the contemporary fiction novels. If you are into effects of hallucinogens and cultish behaviours, you might enjoy this book