Play Book Tag discussion

Wow! I cannot believe this is a debut novel.

Very surprisingly, I thought it was terrific. Surprisingly because I don't like magical realism. I also don't like books about monsters or any supernatural type phenomena. And this book had elements that I think qualified on both counts.

But Cordova manages to combine the best elements of realistic fiction with some pretty unbelievable things - - and it worked. Honestly, something about it really reminded me of Nabokov's writing in Lolita combined with Stephen King. The author managed to make me believe, and I was totally immersed in the lives of her characters. I actually wanted it to be longer - - and that's so rare for me.

It's an easy book to spoil so I don't want to say much about the plot, but when Joseph and Magos lose their son, their marriage falls apart. When Magos takes a souvenir from the body, it morphs into something/someone else, Monstrilio. So much of this book is about desire and yearning, and that's what really made it stand out to me. Magos and Joseph and their drive to parent is so relatable to every parent.

This novel is the first one I've read in awhile where I was reluctant to put it down and ended up reading the latter half in an afternoon.