Monstrilio A Novel

This is one of the weirdest books I have read so far. But it was still emotional and enjoyable. All the characters were really fleshed out. This book keeps you guessing and you actually feel sympathy for the little monster.

I am always skeptical when it comes to MAN writing a story from a female perspective, but the way Sámano Córdova wrote Magos, Lena was...digestible but remained weird to read during certain passages as it was not totally realistic the way he portrayed the female sexual desire, specifically. Nonetheless, the characters were not completely bland. Magos: Something I could notice right away was how desolate, depressed and dead inside she felt due to Santiago passing away. I almost like reading a book from a ghost's perspective; that is how hollow she seemed to me. She has a complicated relationship with her mother, unresolved problems with her husband. Lena: the second narrator and Magos’s best friend. Through this character the author explores heavily the sexual aspects of the story. I feel like exploring it is not inherently wrong, but it does not contribute positively to the story. Her POV was generally fine. Joseph: The husband and father. He is the opposite of Magos: calm, passive and even sweet. To me he seemed a bit more devoted to Santiago and M. To be honest I don’t really get why Sámano Córdova stretched the theme palette of this novel to the point of exploring female sexuality. Why would a grieving mother think so much about sex? On the other hand, he did explore complicated relationships between mothers and daughters through both female characters. I enjoyed that. Moreover, his analogy for expressing how differently Santiago’s dead affected everyone – Lena, Magos, Joseph – was good. Yes, the lung used to be part of him, but it is not him nor has Santiagos’s essence anymore. Monstrilio is the personification of the negative feelings surrounding the family and its acquaintances. What happens if you do not confront your own feelings and perpetuate living in delusion. But that’s about it. The exploration of sexual aspects was more deeply developed than the grieving process. It felt almost as if Santiago’s death was the catalyzer for us to follow the family through their lives and its changes. These were interesting to read, but not what was promised the novel to be about. I did not enjoy this writing style. The sentences ended so abruptly – A row of six words and then a point. But it helps to read the book quickly. You can tell the author was inspired by his Mexican roots. He shows it to us not exclusively through the character's ethnic background, but also through an old tale being the reason that made Magos feed the piece of flesh. To sum up: It wasn’t a horrible novel, I think the problem lies in it being pitched falsely. I would consider reading future novels by this author again.