Book Review: Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk

 

From the publisher:

Across two different time periods, two women confront fear, loneliness, mortality, and a haunting yearning that will not let them rest. A breakout, genre-blurring novel from one of the most exciting new voices of Latin America’s feminist Gothic.
 
It is the twilight of Europe’s bloody bacchanals, of murder and feasting without end. In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives from Europe to the coast of Buenos Aires and, for the second time in her life, watches as villages transform into a cosmopolitan city, one that will soon be ravaged by yellow fever. She must adapt, intermingle with humans, and be discreet.

In present-day Buenos Aires, a woman finds herself at an impasse as she grapples with her mother's terminal illness and her own relationship with motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire in a cemetery, something ignites within the two women—and they cross a threshold from which there’s no turning back.

With echoes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and written in the vein of feminist Gothic writers like Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and Carmen Maria Machado, Thirst plays with the boundaries of genre while exploring the limits of female agency, the consuming power of desire, and the fragile vitality of even the most immortal of creatures.

My Thoughts: The first half of the book is the story of the vampire as she remembers it. She is very animalistic in her hunting and consumption. There is nothing really romantic about her at this point even though she has a dalliance with a young man.

The second half of the book takes place in current times. It's told from a young mother's point of view from before she attracts the vampire's attention to the end. Again there seemed to be little romance.Still, they are drawn to each other for whatever reason. Perhaps loneliness is the biggest motivator. I had trouble understanding the decision of the modern woman at the end though there was foreshadowing.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. The prose is lush and descriptive, at times dreamlike. I think the translator did a great job. The theme of death is carried throughout. It's interesting to see the different deaths and the results. If you enjoy vampire stories this makes a good read. Just don't expect a romantic view of vampires.

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk was published March 5th, 2024 by Dutton.

i received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion.

What I'm reading May 21, 2024

 

I am currently reading three books.

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk is on my Kindle. I'm about half way through it. 

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rosie Sutherland is on my tablet. I'm about 25% through it.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon is on the Kindle app on my phone. I'm about 10% through it.

All three books are good. 

Thirst  is starting to pick up a little now, so I may spend more time reading it than the others. I'm happy I want to know what is going to happen with this vampire.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a selkie tale. I'm wondering when the main character, who is a midwife, will figure it out and what the consequences will be.

I'm not yet far enough into Oye to say yet. But it's an interesting format, sort of like overhearing a telephone conversation.

What are you reading this week? I hope you are enjoying it. Let us know in the comments. Happy Reading!

Happy Book Birthday to Two Very Different Books

 

Two very different books come out today, but they do have one thing in common. They both have at their center female relationships.

From the publisher:

Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero are in sore need of a girls’ weekend away. They plan a trip to Atlantic City, but odds are—seeing as it’s actually a cover story to negotiate a deal with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car—it won’t be all fun and games. When Finlay’s ex-husband Steven and her mother insist on tagging along too, Finlay and Vero suddenly have a few too many meddlesome passengers along for the ride.

Within hours of arriving in their seedy casino hotel, it becomes clear their rescue mission is going to be a bust. Javi’s kidnapper, Marco, refuses to negotiate, demanding payment in full in exchange for Javi’s life. But that’s not all—he insists on knowing the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike, who mysteriously disappeared. Unable to confess what really happened to Ike, Finlay and Vero are forced to come up with a new plan: sleuth out the location of Javi and the Aston Martin, then steal them both back.

But when they sneak into the loan shark’s suite to search for clues, they find more than they bargained for—Marco's already dead. They don’t have a clue who murdered him, only that they themselves have a very convincing motive. Then four members of the police department unexpectedly show up in town, also looking for Ike—and after Finlay's night with hot cop Nick at the police academy, he’s a little too eager to keep her close to his side.

If Finlay can juggle a jealous ex-husband, two precocious kids, her mother’s marital issues, a decomposing loan shark, and find Vero’s missing boyfriend, she might get out of Atlantic City in one piece. But will she fold under the pressure and come clean about the things she’s done, or be forced to double down?

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano is out today from Minotaur Books.

Next up is Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk which is out today from Dutton.

From the publisher:

It is the twilight of Europe’s bloody bacchanals, of murder and feasting without end. In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives from Europe to the coast of Buenos Aires and, for the second time in her life, watches as villages transform into a cosmopolitan city, one that will soon be ravaged by yellow fever. She must adapt, intermingle with humans, and be discreet.

In present-day Buenos Aires, a woman finds herself at an impasse as she grapples with her mother's terminal illness and her own relationship with motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire in a cemetery, something ignites within the two women—and they cross a threshold from which there’s no turning back.

With echoes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and written in the vein of feminist Gothic writers like Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and Carmen Maria Machado, Thirst plays with the boundaries of genre while exploring the limits of female agency, the consuming power of desire, and the fragile vitality of even the most immortal of creatures.

What books have you  been waiting for today? Are you more of a Finlay Donovan person or Gothic vampire or both? I'm both. Reviews to follow.