A difficult and involving read that gets right inside Lucas's unravelling mind. Insects, dirt, and decomposition mirror Lucas's feelings and the descent into horror is gradual but complete. A complex and obscure story, the writing is very evocative.

This book is beautifully haunting. If you like magical realism, you would definitely enjoy the story here of a boy named Lucas. The story is almost bittersweet and sad but you'll like it.

If you like magical realism and lyrical musings then you will love this poetic ballad of a book. Lucas returns to the home he lived a carefree, gilded childhood before two thugs arrived and brought about the destruction of his family.. Te gardens of the house now lie in ruins, nature has re established its dominace. weeds grown on his father's grave and lucas muses on what happens to our loved ones bodies after death, the circle of insect life from larvae to death and ponders questions such as , has life any meaning, what does it mean to be a son or a father?

A striking, lyrical story about the tragic life of a young boy, and how he is just part of a larger picture, a larger world. Cinematic and evocative, this book is full of despair and darkness, but with a glimmer of beauty hidden deep within the pages. Despite the range of topics and emotions Freire covers throughout, this story is relatively short and easy to follow - managing to say a lot without saying much at all. Definitely a beautiful, thought-provoking piece of literature.

A beautifully written book that meanders through the strange and wonderful mind of Lucas, a boy thrown out of his home by two thugs who arrive and take his previously gilded life away from him.
It’s a short book with so much left unsaid and so much minutely described that your imagination fills in the gaps.
For a first novel, very striking in its style and depth.

This book was like a long series of lyrical musings on the meaning of life and death, the brutality of family relationships and the role of the natural world in the human loosely tied around a bleak story. The magical realism and writing style immediately reminded me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, so if you enjoy that, you will like this story. The prose here is fabulous and deserves hours to sit and ponder.

Thanks to Natalia Garcia Freire and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a hard book to review as the narrator, Lucas, and us the readers experience visual explosions together. The lyrical flow of Freire's writing is the master stroke that makes this bleak story of tragic past, stand out. More than the story, its how the author connects past and present, land to the heart, and death and decay with hope and rebirth. Its fascinating in the way Lucas, the protagonist who narrates this, talks to his dead father as he goes through the adulthood and evaluates life from the moment it went wrong to his family to the fate he he now lives.

Thank you to Netgalley and OneWorld Editions for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review

This book draws you in with its exquisite and poetic detail. Lucas returns to his childhood home many years after being forcibly removed. Yearning for the past joy and unconditional love of his mother, before the unwelcome intrusion of two hulking strangers who destroy his idyllic childhood. Lucas is revulsed by his father, who willingly empowers the darkness and decay inflicted by the strangers. As an escape, he finds solace in the world of his insect friends. A beautifully described and haunting narrative exploring death, religion and family relationships.

Thank you NetGalley and World Editions for the opportunity to review this book.

Freire's is a solid debut; the prose is delicate and reminds the reader, inevitably, of Marquez, whilst the themes are explored in a sincere and sharp manner.

Incredible debut and a wonderful read. I always think we are so lucky that so many books are translated so we can enjoy literature from all over the world.
I truly enjoyed this very filmic work, and will be looking out for more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

“Don't you think that, after our deaths, after everything, it is they who are the stronger ones? And that, all things considered, perhaps this world does not belong to us, but to those miniscule beings, so numerous that they could bury us completely if they ever came together.”

Genre: Fiction
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses death. Also, insects and dead animals are prominent topics, if you have a phobia related to any insect, don’t read this book.

“This World Does Not Belong to Us” follows Lucas as he visits his childhood home after he was sent off and sold into slavery. Since then, his father has died and his mother has been labeled a madwoman—oh, and two strangers they had invited into their home years back are now permanently living it.

This book is deeply troubled and yet somehow beautifully poetic. It feels like it’s Lucas’s way of grieving not only his father’s death but all he lost when he was sent away. Between a series of flashbacks, Lucas relives the days he spent in the home that is no longer his.

I would recommend this book to people who like magical realism. So, people who have enjoyed books by authors like Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, and Isabel Allende. These books are filled with absurd circumstances that are portrayed as if they’re not absurd at all. I can see why this debut novel is so highly acclaimed in its original language, congratulations to Natalia García Freire and thanks to Victor Meadowcroft for this beautiful translation.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the writing style but I was in the mood for a good story. So, it's more a me thing than anything I think.

This World Does Not Belong to Us by Natalia García Freire is a lyrical novella that touches on a number of themes in its short page count, including death, family relationships, connection with nature and religious belief. It has a lot to say, and it does so in a succinct way, but now and then I found myself wishing for the book to be a little longer, so it could explore these ideas more fully. Lucas was an interesting character and I was immediately drawn into his world and his feelings, and overall I found the story thought provoking and evocative. For me, it was a 3.5-star read that I will round up to a four.

The book is like a long lyrical poem, a ballad about death, life, family, religion, nature, the meaning and meaninglessness of life, its beauty and brutality. It will really be understood by those who were or are in a similar situation or who have not had a good relationship with their father, but we mourn his death, we are sorry we can no longer tell him our feelings. And the tragedy for all of us is that we have to imagine what happens to our loved ones after they die. And we know it’s a natural process, yet we can’t reconcile with the horroristic, horrible images that appear before us. And this is when we think about what the meaning of life is, and what was the meaning of the life of the father, the mother, why they loved or hated, if they were already dead, if only their bodies were feasted under the ground by insects.

Thanks to the writer for this beautiful lyrical, yet naturally brutal, but sincere poem, and thanks to Netgalley and World Editions for the opportunity to read this book.