I never really get the chance to read novels and books from Ecuador, so I was excited to receive this advance copy! It's a bit of a shorter book than I expected, and while I do wish we got a bit more time with each of the characters whose perspectives we landed in each chapter, I generally enjoyed the myth making that's created through this tale, albeit how tragic and cruel it can be. I'd recommend this book for those who find themselves interested in the synopsis--it can be quite the interesting read.

I have somehow completely missed Natalia García Freire's first English translation, This World Does Not Belong to Us, which I shall rectify as soon as possible after reading this novel. I'm not sure exactly what happens in it, but I'm sure it reads like the offspring of Fernanda Melchor and Agustina Bazterrica (and there's even a character called Agustina). And that is as high as my praise can go, as both Melchor and Bazterrica have written some of my favourite novels of the last decade. So if you are ready for otherworldly, more-than-human, chthonic encounters that challenge the very foundations of common sense, then sit down and open this book. It's disgustingly pleasurable or pleasurably disgusting, binaries don't really apply here.

This short novel felt like a fever dream. It is a series of chapters from different people in the same Ecuadorian village. Each of them is at once insightful, symbolic, and sometimes brutally realistic. The writing is beautiful and grotesque all at once. I've never read anything quite like it before.

A short and, generally, beautifully written book, however it requires the reader’s attention to connect the multiple POVs.
I have read little Ecuadorian literature, and I am glad to have read this one.
The author’s writing is poetic, and I enjoyed the myth-like elements in the story.
Solid 3 stars.

This was a short novel but still very good. I do hope to read something longer by this author soon. Very talented.

A heavy, gristly read, despite its short length. The prose is lyrical, often beautiful, but the content can be brutal. The unfortunate residents of a godforsaken town venture into the woods in search of a party of townsfolk who have gone missing. I liked how each chapter followed someone new, but I did find there were too many side characters and too little time to get to grips with who they were.

At first, I was very invested in the story, wanting to know about Mildred and her otherwordly effects on the town. I was curious about the town itself and the odd people that lived there. However, my attention was rather quickly lost and by the half-way point I’d more or less lost interest. The style of the writing made it easy to get lost and I had a hard time keeping the different characters in order as not only were there so many of them, but there was so little information about what was actually happening that even if I remembered everyone’s name, there’s little chance I remembered who in the hell they even were. Plot wise, it was a challenge to decypher what was going on. Moments were highly disturbing in a way that I normally would enjoy but the imbalance of the style took away from the few elements I did like.

I love travelling through books and read voices I normally wouldn’t, and I feel like I got that feel with this book even if I maybe didn’t connect to the story, I can appreciate reading something completely different from what I usually read.

Set in the Ecuadorian Andes gave this a pretty unique feel to me, and one could tell there is a clear thought behind the book.

A Carnival of Atrocities by Natalia García Freire
Rating: 4/5

This book swept me into its haunting world in the Ecuadorian Andes, where the town of Cocuán pulses with myths, madness, and old wounds. Freire’s writing is mesmerizing, mixing earthy imagery with surreal, almost mythical tones as the story of Mildred—ostracized and wronged—unfolds. The voices of the nine narrators weave together a tale of eerie beauty and tragic weight, reminding me of the poetic intensity of Shirley Jackson or Gabriel García Márquez. It’s not a light read, but if you enjoy dark, atmospheric fiction where reality and folklore blur, this will stick with you long after you close the book.

It’s definitely one of those novels where the language and vibe steal the show over plot. If you’re okay with that, dive in—you won’t regret it!