Scan barcode
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, and War
bontho4713's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and War
lamotta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Incest, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
aggie2010's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Death of parent
saltycoffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: War
vita_ayala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The format is almost dream-like, which is onteresting to read and adds to the tension I think.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
We lose the thread of the son somewhere in the middle, which I think ultimately makes this too loose of a story.malustedile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Grief
trinidad_gondi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: War
ohlhauc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was an absolutely disorienting read and yet so memorable, visceral, and inescapable. I couldn't put it down. It is a book that needs to be read by anyone with an interest in ghost stories, magic realism, spirit worlds, town collapse, boss stories, classics, post-revolutionary stories, or Mexican literature.
What you need to know, though, is to just go with the flow. Read it without trying to figure out who all the characters are or trying to piece together the timeline of what's happening. While there are strings in the plot to tie moments together, the story jumps between different timelines and different voices, and it's not always clear who's speaking. The author left gaps and asks the reader to actively engage with the text and fill in the rest of the story as they see fit. Usually I'm not a huge fan of that style but here it works. The author gives you just enough to feel bonded with the characters and to want to find out why Comala is a ghost town, but the exercise in your own imagination makes each read and re-read a new and exciting experience. This is definitely a book to re-read, each time learning things you missed or finding new ways to understand what happened.
You will be confused at points but embrace it. You will be frustrated at some of the characters but embrace it. You will feel creeped out and torn and stomped on but embrace it.
This is a classic and deservedly so. I recommend it without reservation.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
aegagrus's review against another edition
3.25
Rulfo's sparse prose and magical realism are gripping and compelling, but a substantial part of their appeal is in their ambiguity. Once the story develops to a point at which the reader understands the rules of the world in which we're operating, the novel loses steam, in part because it is no longer as ambiguous. At heart this is a collection of stories and memories lived by different people at different times, and some are more compelling than others. Fr. Rentería is particularly compelling and interesting, in part because his story implicates the broader themes drawing the novel together in a quite nuanced way. Other stories and characters feel somewhat more peripheral.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Grief, and Murder