stochita reviewed Paradais by Sophie Hughes
A novel of its time
5 stars
Melchor's language goes back to the primal, carnal desires, stripping it of any romanticism, any pleasant images that brush off against one's cheek to induce a feeling of tranquility. "Sleeping on a bed of needles", that is how I would describe every page I flipped, yet I cannot regret a single line in which the gore images were depicted with such intensity. A novel of its time, placing the Mexican socio-economic context right in the center without clearly stating in bold activist claims what it is fighting against. Someone is kidnapped and tortured? Anti-cartel, though never stated. Her bold descriptions play well against the mundane lives of the two main characters - two young boys - who face existential questions that they postpone answering. Maybe in the end we are all repeating our parents mistakes? Melchor would fight against this, given its reductionist geneticist approach, instead telling us to look …
Melchor's language goes back to the primal, carnal desires, stripping it of any romanticism, any pleasant images that brush off against one's cheek to induce a feeling of tranquility. "Sleeping on a bed of needles", that is how I would describe every page I flipped, yet I cannot regret a single line in which the gore images were depicted with such intensity. A novel of its time, placing the Mexican socio-economic context right in the center without clearly stating in bold activist claims what it is fighting against. Someone is kidnapped and tortured? Anti-cartel, though never stated. Her bold descriptions play well against the mundane lives of the two main characters - two young boys - who face existential questions that they postpone answering. Maybe in the end we are all repeating our parents mistakes? Melchor would fight against this, given its reductionist geneticist approach, instead telling us to look around us and what prompted us to do what we did. Simply stating someone is a killer, without knowing what made him take that gun is pointless and creates more problems than solving some.
Now, I need a break. Probably will head towards some Hemingway to learn about bullfighting, because Melchor made every muscle in my body twitch. It is a disturbing novel, though necessary to read in this day and age.
