Tournament of Books discussion

Space to discuss the 2024 TOB contender Monstrilio, by Gerardo Samano Cordova.

I finished this today, in audio. I really enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would based on its description.

Glad to hear it, Heather. I’m on the fence about whether I want to invest the time to read this one.

Wow. I absolutely loved this one. Horror and heart in equal measure. Excellent audiobook.

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to. There were times went I wasn't sure I wanted to finish, either because the characters were annoying me or it felt too slow, but now that I'm done I really appreciate it.

Thank you, Heather, Ehrrin, and Bretnie. I was flagging, but you all make it seem like I might not hate every minute of reading this. Just this one and the most dreaded of all ( BrainWyrms) to go.

Adding my voice to those that ended up loving it more than expected.

There’s grief and gore and horror, sure, but the component I can’t stop thinking about is the non-traditional family at its center and how beautiful it is. Every family member genuinely loves every other member and is truly trying to do what they think is best for the family, even when they disagree. There’s so much real, messy love there.

Theresa that's a great point and a great theme of the book.

The other part that I really enjoyed was Lena's section and her own exploration of feeling like a monster in her mother's eyes (and maybe why Lena finds this chosen family who loves her). I liked the "we're all a bit monster" feel to it.

Bretnie wrote: "Theresa that's a great point and a great theme of the book.

The other part that I really enjoyed was Lena's section and her own exploration of feeling like a monster in her mother's eyes (and mayb..."

Agreed. That backstory was heartbreaking. And so necessary to explain why Lena, the most "practical" one in the family, went along with everything.

Phyllis wrote: "Thank you, Heather, Ehrrin, and Bretnie. I was flagging, but you all make it seem like I might not hate every minute of reading this."

So, have you finished? What did you think?

I finished this one a couple of weeks ago and thought it was … fine.

There was some interesting stuff going on, but overall, I’m not sure it added up to enough for me, and it wasn’t as polished as I would hope for from a tournament book. (That one-armed ball of mouth was probably fun to draw, but evidently not so easy to realize.)

So, I took a hiatus from ToB reading, with Monstrilio and Brainwyrms still to go. I needed to reset my headspace with a few books I really want to read. I think it’s working - back to ToB soon.

Oh, just finished this last night and absolutely loved it! Like Ehrrin said up above, horror and heart. It's a book about family, surprisingly about found family, it takes a village and all that.

Spoiler praise: (view spoiler)[At the dinner party, when the "family" finds out M killed the guy Peter brought up. The moment Peter brings up the murder, each member of the family tries to bring up an explanation to direct away from the possibility of a murder and eventually M.
"Maybe he died years ago and was just found."
"Acid will peel flesh right off."
"Somebody could've brought the bones from anywhere."
Then they each leave the dinner one at a time to talk to M about it. I found it so comical that one by one they left Peter to keep eating by himself. A new person kept showing up to look at the evidence M took from the scene and they banded together to solve this problem, they all instantly go into protective/planning mode.

Then Peter shows up and says "I feel like I've interrupted something." Loved it! (hide spoiler)]

I am reading this now, and at page 66 I am all in. I think the cover and the inside flap description do not do service to the content of this novel. By contrast, the praise quotes on the back seem to much better capture what it is really about, saying much the same things that many of you are saying in your reviews. Thank you all for not letting me give up before reading this one.

Here's a podcast interview with Gerardo Sámano Córdova about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pPH...

And here's a discussion with Gerardo Sámano Córdova & Kelly Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZXTE...

I loved how the cover evoked tangram puzzles which is something that takes me straight back to childhood while also showing this ghoulish monster. Really hit the monster/child vibe.

Kip, you make me see how the cover could strike different people differently. If you were attracted to the ghoulish monster horror aspect of the story, then the cover probably hits just right. For me, the attraction of the book is more the love and grief aspect, so the cover doesn’t depict that for me.

Oh, gosh, I loved this book! What a gem -- it's hard to pinpoint where I started falling in love with all the characters. So glad I read this! ❤️ (Jan, read it -- I think you'll love it.)

Dianah, thanks for the nudge…I needed it! Has anyone listened to the audio, and if so, how did it work? I’m seeing there are several POV characters and only one narrator, so I’m thinking paper might be better. Thanks!

I’m listening to it right now and loving it. It seems to be a great one for the audio format, in my opinion.

Jan, I read it on ebook -- no problems. I'm dying to know what you think!

I did the audiobook and it worked for me! The different character’s perspectives are specific stand-alone chapters and it’s clear when you’re moving from one to another.

I did the audiobook as well and I think there are a few narrators? Unless I'm remembering wrong which is quite possible!

I just finished this one tonight. I had been putting it off because I don’t like “monster“ stories, and I generally stay away from books with unrealistic or fantastical elements. However, despite the one (very) fantastical element here, this is mostly a realistic novel about family, friends, lovers, and life in general. This book has so much heart without being the least bit twee or sentimental.

Other than The Heaven and Earth Grocery store, this may be my favorite book in the tournament, which is a complete surprise to me! I haven’t finished the entire list yet, but I’m very close, and I can’t see the small handful of books I haven’t yet gotten to pulling ahead of this one in my affections.

Just finished listening to this and really liked it. I’m a horror wimp, and compared to Manhunt from last year’s Tournament, this was a walk in the park. Thanks to the ToB for putting this on the shortlist and to those of you who shared your enthusiasm, because I would not have known about this one or chosen to read it otherwise.

Jan, yay! I'm so glad this was a hit for you, too! Lol, I'm a horror wimp as well, and that journey with Manhunt sucked! What about Brainwyrms, though? Yeeeesh!!!

Thanks for all the enthusiasm for this one, folks. I enjoyed it a lot and thought the characters were all interesting. None of them behaved like actual people, but they were entertaining.

The first section, centered on Magos, was all about grief and was the section that, wild as it was, felt the most true to me.

I just finished this, and overall I liked it, the characters and, as others mentioned above, the way they protected and cared for each other. (The mention of We Have Always Lived in the Castle was a little on the nose, though...) I thought the story and writing were just okay. But it was such an interesting depiction of grief. I didn't feel the grief at all in the first section, and I think that was purposeful, Magos is feeling too much after Santiago's death to allow herself to feel anything. The grief is much more apparent in later sections.

I appreciated the queer themes, I read M's character as reflecting the idea of the LGBTQ+ population not being accepted because of something that is intrinsically part of who they are, the chopping of his arm-tail as an attempt to remove that "otherness." But I'd like to hear from the queer readers here what they thought about the author portraying M's queerness alongside his desires, the online dating as a search for prey, the sadomasochism of his date with Sam. (And all the eating of hotdogs...) I felt uncomfortable, reading it, but I'm sure I was meant to.

Overall, I think it's a worthy TOB contender, and I hope it wins over American Mermaid (which I haven't read but am guessing doesn't say as much.)

Elizabeth wrote: "Overall, I think it's a worthy TOB contender, and I hope it wins over American Mermaid (which I haven't read but am guessing doesn't say as much.)"

I'd forgotten it was up against American Mermaid. What an interesting matchup. I hope Mostrillio wins also, but I know American Mermaid has some fans.

Monstrilio falls in the category of "Admired More Than 'Enjoyed'" for me. I have just come to accept that horror, even literary horror, is not a genre I enjoy reading. I finished it a couple of days ago and promptly grabbed for the fluffiest, "palate-cleansing" book I could find in my TBR pile. But, I am glad that the novel resonated for so many in our group.

Just finished and the last section was nearly as propulsive as The Guest, but I was happier spending time in this space. And he stuck the landing! There were bits that reminded me of Chouette, but this was fully its own story and just a good, solid read. A good *story* - a concept which has really gotten lost in many of the books this TOB. As a few others have also said, I think H&EGS still edges this out as my favorite, but what a delightful surprise!

I did not enjoy this one. There was far too much erotica that distracted from the central plotline, and I found it bizarre that all the main characters are queer. It was fine with Magos, Lena, and M, but the sudden reveal of Joseph and hinting at Lucia being bisexual were just odd and random.

It's a good family story, but I wish the focus were solely on the family dynamics. The sexual fetishes serve no purpose, and the time skip between the first and second halves completely change the family relationships. Seeing Lena shifting from the central character in her section to just a periphery character in the latter half feels like a character assassination. She really should have just gone the way of Lucia and Jackie in the story.

Calvin wrote: "I did not enjoy this one. There was far too much erotica that distracted from the central plotline, and I found it bizarre that all the main characters are queer. It was fine with Magos, Lena, and ..."

Oh, there was definitely too much crammed in, but to me it felt more like here was a writer putting all his ideas into his first novel, and I think he maybe was far to in love with every single one of his characters to make this entirely successful as horror or as literary fiction.

What did I just read

Kyle wrote: "What did I just read"

Haha, I actually really liked this one and found it very unique and oddly affecting.

I found it bizarre that all the main characters are queer
As a Queer person I welcome all the queerness. It's rarely question that all characters are straight.
Anyhoo, just finished up, worked for me as a audiobook, I rather liked it. I think this could be a surprise book this year

Audra wrote: " I found it bizarre that all the main characters are queer
As a Queer person I welcome all the queerness. It's rarely question that all characters are straight.
Anyhoo, just finished up, worked fo..."

Audra, can you look at my comments above on the bits that made me uncomfortable? As I said, I'd love to hear what Queer readers think about the sadomasochism and M's online dating becoming a hunt for prey. It feels like the author is trying to cement homophobes' worst assumptions, so why? Of course he's Queer himself, and I'm sure he was trying to say something, but I honestly don't know what.

I didn't read into any of that. I mean, people have kinks and in this day and age (so I've heard, when I met my spouse they didn't even have a cell phone so dating apps are kinda lost on me). People are looking for biters, M is looking to feed, which obviously a bit different. But really, it's no different than if we go back to everyone over 40's Queer root: The Hunger.