readwithmeemz's reviews
1255 reviews

A profoundly moving, often devastating read about death, dying, and the stories our dead can tell us, this is a book that will stick with me for quite some time. It’s a little surreal reading about a brutal genocide supported by the US government, right now, while we’re watching a genocide unfurl before our very eyes, also supported by and funded by the US government (among others). This book serves as a testimony - a witness to the horrors and brutality that unfolded in Guatemala and in Argentina. In this work, our author, an anthropologist, works with forensics teams in Latin America, in order to exhume, identify, and  prove what happened. As our narrator learns about bones and how to put them together, she also learns about the stories bones tell — the slice of a machete, the crush of grave dirt, the bodies shaped by starvation - alongside witness testimonials, these bones bring to life the people who once wore them, their stories, their lives, and the unbearable tragedy of their deaths. This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Horrifying and haunting, while simultaneously beautiful and tender, this book is full of care, compassion, and humanity. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. 

I received a digital (audio) copy of this book from the publisher.

This book is a love story, but not in the way you’d expect. It’s a love letter to games and how they connect us. There’s no doubt this book was inventive and compelling, but it was also a bit trite, and pretentious. The concept was very cool, and I was INVESTED, finishing the book in 2 days. I understand why everyone has been talking about this book, but it’s not without its flaws.

The main characters were poorly developed, and the pacing felt off leading to a story that felt too long. The gaming element was cool, if at times a bit niche, but I was very much intrigued. The thing i struggled with the most was the characters, and how one-dimensional, and undeveloped they felt. Every instance of emotional poignancy, conflict, or character development felt forced, hollow, or trite. We don’t really get anything from these characters, then dive into a small story that’s meant to deliver an emotional arc and devastate us with the hidden depths of our characters, but unfortunately it usually felt a bit “too little, too late”, It felt maudlin and melodramatic, a bit soapy at times with how the story seemed to try to force our hand as readers, to have a devastating emotional reaction. I won’t lie, I did cry, especially at the NPC chapter, but that was the exception, not the rule. For the most part, these people were awful to each other, which is fine, but we were expected to believe so much of them, which was hard to invest in. They were primarily hollow and one-note characters. Their supposed “rich inner lives” were supposed to humanize them, and perhaps make them more sympathetic, but the peeks into their inner thoughts and monologues were narrative devices that told readers exactly why we should be rooting for these people, without trusting the readers to get there themselves. 

All in all, this was compelling and interesting, but left me feeling it’s lack of depth, more than celebrating what i liked about it.

I received a reading copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest feedback.