3.0
Paradais
ByPublisher Description
Now in paperback,"Paradais continues Melchor’s examination into the metaphysical assault embedded in patriarchy and classism” (Jessica Jacolbe, Vulture)
Inside a luxury housing complex, two misfit teenagers sneak around and get drunk. Franco Andrade, lonely, overweight, and addicted to porn, obsessively fantasizes about seducing his neighbor—an attractive married woman and mother—while Polo dreams about quitting his grueling job as a gardener within the gated community and fleeing his overbearing mother and their narco-controlled village. Each facing the impossibility of getting what he thinks he deserves, Franco and Polo hatch a mindless and macabre scheme. Written in a chilling torrent of prose by one of our most thrilling new writers, Paradais explores the explosive fragility of Mexican society—with its racist, classist, hyper violent tendencies—and how the myths, desires, and hardships of teenagers can tear life apart at the seams.Download the free Fable app
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesParadais Reviews
3.0
“Franco lives with his grandparents in Paradais, a gated community for people with enough money. He spends most of his days masturbating and phantasizing about his hot neighbor. Polo works at Paradais, hates his boss (who admittedly is a horrible employer), avoids his family as much as possible and is mainly concerened about how to get his hands on the next bottle of alcohol.
Both teenagers don't really like each other, but lacking any good alternative, they regularly hang out together, drinking and smoking. Slowly, they develop a violent plan only made possible by the unhealthy dynamics between the two of them.
This was definitely an interesting book. I didn't like any of the characters, but I guess this was intended. It was very depressing to learn about the boys' backgrounds and their loveless families fueling their self-absorbed and damaged personalities.
For the most part, the book was a bit too lengthy for me, but it also had a section which was very gripping. I definitely apreciate the author's decision, but it wasn't exactly for me.
The look into the social situation and organized crime in Mexico was really interesting.
What is very striking about the book is the writing style: Sometimes there wasn't a paragraph for ages and many of the sentences went on for a whole page or even longer. This was a bit hard to get into, but then more easy to read than expected.
I would recommend "Paradais" to someone looking for a book with a dark topic which at the same time is literary demanding.”
About Fernanda Melchor
Born in Veracruz, Mexico, in 1982, Fernanda Melchor is “one of Mexico’s most exciting new voices” (The Guardian). Her novel Hurricane Season was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, longlisted for the National Book Award, and was a New York Times Notable Book.
Other books by Fernanda Melchor
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