NAMED A “FALL 2020 MUST-READ” AND ONE OF THE “BEST BOOKS OF FALL 2020” BY TIME, VULTURE, THE BOSTON GLOBE, COSMOPOLITAN, WIRED, TOR AND MOREElectrifying and provocative, visceral and profound, a powerful literary debut novel about a young woman whose compulsion to eat earth gives her visions of murdered and missing people—an imaginative synthesis of mystery and magical realism that explores the … magical realism that explores the dark tragedies of ordinary lives.
Set in an unnamed slum in contemporary Argentina, Eartheater is the story of a young woman who finds herself drawn to eating the earth—a compulsion that gives her visions of broken and lost lives. With her first taste of dirt, she learns the horrifying truth of her mother’s death. Disturbed by what she witnesses, the woman keeps her visions to herself. But when Eartheater begins an unlikely relationship with a withdrawn police officer, word of her ability begins to spread, and soon desperate members of her community beg for her help, anxious to uncover the truth about their own loved ones.
Surreal and haunting, spare yet complex, Eartheater is a dark, emotionally resonant tale told from a feminist perspective that brilliantly explores the stories of those left behind—the women enduring the pain of uncertainty, whose lives have been shaped by violence and loss.
Translated from the Spanish by Julia Sanches
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Rating: 3.5/5
I found the concept of the story intriguing. A young woman who eats dirt, and as a consequence sees visions. It could be that the person whose dirt she eats, is missing, is found dead, or has just died. It is a very interesting story. I saw it tagged as Magical realism, which also drew me into reading it. Or rather listening to it. I listened to the audiobook on Scribd. The narrator and translator of the book did great telling the story.
It was a shorter story, the book was only 3-4 hours long as an audiobook. For the first part, I was really invested in learning about the main character and why she is called an eartheater. The story starts off with elements of magical realism, mystery, etc. It draws you into the story.
Then I just felled like I missed some things, or that it was rushed to get to some kind of ending.
I really enjoyed the concept and story behind the book. But I would have liked it to be longer, more in-depth about what is going on with her behavior and visions, and dreams. It did tackle some more serious subjects and I think this was the main motivation of the author to create this book.
It was written well and narrated very well into an audiobook. I do recommend this (audio)book. It is an interesting combination of magical realism and mystery that tackles crimes against women, loss and growing up.
I was drawn to Eartheater by Dolores Reyes because of the unusual cover and the synopsis. I enjoy interesting supernatural stories, and this reminded me a bit of stories that I have read about Sineaters.
The book started out well, and I enjoyed the quick, some may even say chaotic, style of writing. I felt that it worked well with the 15 year old’s life. She never knew if there would be enough money, if violence would happen to her, or if those she loved would stay, so since her life is so chaotic, it makes sense that her story would be too.
I think the book could have been a lot stronger if Reyes had been able to incorporate more back story into the history of Eartheaters. Her protagonist may not have any knowledge of it, but to put in a character who did or somehow incorporate the information would have made the story a lot more interesting to me.
And once she started spending time with the police office I was happy to see that she had a sense of calm in her life and that he didn’t fear her. But there were a couple of sex scenes that felt like they were just added in to make the story more visceral or raw or something. They just completely felt out of place. Then there’s the end. It just seemed to come out of nowhere and then a character pops up and then it’s over.
I feel like Eartheater has a lot of potential, but needs to be edited a few more times to reach it.