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A review by saragrochowski
The House of Impossible Loves by Cristina López Barrio
2.0
I was drawn to THE HOUSE OF IMPOSSIBLE LOVES by the compelling title and synopsis and, while the prose was gorgeous and the plot unique, I just wasn't hooked by this novel.
The story tells about multiple generations of women from a family that has been cursed. It is said that the women in this family will never experience happy love and will forever end up alone. Quickly, an issue arose that I found hard to overlook: I felt no connection - neither sympathy or anger - towards the women of the novel. This, an inability to connect with a novel's characters, generally signals the beginning of the end of my relationship with a book.
Additionally, there were many elements of this novel that made me feel... awkward. It wasn't any of the sexual elements, but rather the relationships. They were all so stilted and horrible. I mean, I'm fairly certain this was the author's goal, but really felt quite uncomfortable.
If you are drawn to this novel, I encourage you to pick it up, despite the fact that I did not enjoy it. It's very well-written and very different, but it just wasn't for me.
The story tells about multiple generations of women from a family that has been cursed. It is said that the women in this family will never experience happy love and will forever end up alone. Quickly, an issue arose that I found hard to overlook: I felt no connection - neither sympathy or anger - towards the women of the novel. This, an inability to connect with a novel's characters, generally signals the beginning of the end of my relationship with a book.
Additionally, there were many elements of this novel that made me feel... awkward. It wasn't any of the sexual elements, but rather the relationships. They were all so stilted and horrible. I mean, I'm fairly certain this was the author's goal, but really felt quite uncomfortable.
If you are drawn to this novel, I encourage you to pick it up, despite the fact that I did not enjoy it. It's very well-written and very different, but it just wasn't for me.