I was really expecting to love this book. I heard a lot of hype for it, and the premise sounded awesome.
Unfortunately, I didn't like the execution at all. It's very boring- the only part I found interesting was the beginning. I didn't connect with the characters and their reactions to Monstrilio didn’t make sense to me. I understand that the book is about loving someone despite them being different, but it seemed really strange to me that literally no one had an issue with him killing people/animals past the beginning. It would have been way more interesting if the book had offered a counterpoint to this unconditional love, so we could think a bit more about who would be in the right. (Although I would still expect the verdict to be the same)
The book moves between Mexico City, Berlin and NYC, but there’s never any sense of place- it could have been set in one nondescript location and there wouldn’t have been a difference. I also was hoping it'd go more into folklore, the folk story that's described at the beginning sounded really interesting but they didn't really explore that at all. The prose is staccato and dull. I also think the audiobook form lessened my enjoyment. It has two narrators, a woman and a man, and the man who narrates the Joseph and M chapters has a very unpleasant voice.
It’s also mismarketed as a horror novel- it is not at all. I would describe it more as magical realism coming of age. The book reminded me a lot of Bones and All, which is one of my favorite movies. It has a lot of similar concepts (cannibalism, love, queerness, parenting) but IMO executes them better in every possible way. (It also was not marketed as a horror movie, because it's not)
If you didn't like this book let me know so I know I'm not alone. If you liked it let me know why because I can't figure it out. I seriously tried hard to enjoy it. I guess it's one of those books where if you don't find the characters interesting you're not going to like it. I would also highly recommend watching Bones and All and tell me what you think
by moss42069