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A review by pangnaolin
The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a pretty incredible book to me. It was sort of enthralling in a very weird way, and I don't really know where to begin talking about it. It definitely made me realize that Mexican gothics/surrealist horror pieces have a very specific style. Regardless, the prose was incredible, and I felt like the rug was constantly getting pulled out from under me.
I was especially drawn in by the way it explored the dividing lines of gender, sanity, language, life & death, attraction & fear, relationships in general, and obviously geographical spaces/cities. It felt very vague, and didn't let you sit with anything too long before pulling you along.
I do feel like it doesn't exactly focus on gender as much as summaries & reviews might lead you to think, or at least not in a trans/queer/feminism sort of way. Actually, I'm not sure how to describe it. It does have that string sewn throughout, but it doesn't explain much for you, and it's not always very direct. I'd argue it's more about the erasure of feminine works, ideas, values, etc... whether in how it explores language or Amparo Dávila's work. I wonder if gender might stand out more strongly if I were to read it in its original Spanish language. I should probably try someday!
There's definitely a lot of historical and cultural context around this I want to explore more, though. I feel like every paragraph of this book begs to be analyzed, and it'd do me a lot of good to read some essays on it, reread it with a more critical & analytical eye, and then read some more essays.
You need to be ready for some insane surrealism if you read this, but it definitely is an incredible read.
I was especially drawn in by the way it explored the dividing lines of gender, sanity, language, life & death, attraction & fear, relationships in general, and obviously geographical spaces/cities. It felt very vague, and didn't let you sit with anything too long before pulling you along.
I do feel like it doesn't exactly focus on gender as much as summaries & reviews might lead you to think, or at least not in a trans/queer/feminism sort of way. Actually, I'm not sure how to describe it. It does have that string sewn throughout, but it doesn't explain much for you, and it's not always very direct. I'd argue it's more about the erasure of feminine works, ideas, values, etc... whether in how it explores language or Amparo Dávila's work. I wonder if gender might stand out more strongly if I were to read it in its original Spanish language. I should probably try someday!
There's definitely a lot of historical and cultural context around this I want to explore more, though. I feel like every paragraph of this book begs to be analyzed, and it'd do me a lot of good to read some essays on it, reread it with a more critical & analytical eye, and then read some more essays.
You need to be ready for some insane surrealism if you read this, but it definitely is an incredible read.