A review by peeled_grape
The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes

2.0

There are a lot of compelling things about this novel and then there are a lot of things that are extremely detrimental to the text. The blatant sexism is one of those detrimental things. And I don't even mean the "you belong in the kitchen" kind of sexism, I mean the "women can enjoy being raped and come to love their rapist if they're honorable enough" kind of sexism. The form of this novel is great, and I found myself really taken by the doubles/pairs/repetition that occurs here as well as the play with time. It's intentionally foggy, which is frustrating at first, but you get used to it. There are really well-written scenes, and it's very complex. BUT it felt too over-the-top with the toxic masculinity, and I could not get into it too much because of that.