Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk

 

There's something very old-fashioned about THIRST. It has the vibes of one of those older vampire novels from the 90s and before that go heavy on the old skool goth vibes (mausoleums, family tragedies, creepy statues, Europe), but it feels fresh even as it feels familiar because of the unique Argentinian setting: this book is set entirely in Buenos Aires.

There are two parts in this book. Part I is about the vampire herself and the shenanigans she gets up to, making people into her helpless thralls who are only too happy to give up their blood (eventually), her doomed attempt at making companions, and the solitude that comes from having a thirst that spells out doom for anyone mortal.

Part II is about the human, a single mom newly separated with a mother who has MS (I think?). She's trying to navigate her newly single status even as she attempts to come to terms with her mother's looming death. The way that the two stories intertwine is unsurprising, but what makes this read interesting is the listlessness of the narrative, and the dimensionality given to both protagonists.

If you read a lot of vampire books, I don't think you'll be surprised by anything in THIRST. It's sapphic and Argentinian so even though it's an old story, the portrayal of the characters and the setting are what make it novel and different. It's a pretty depressing read so if you've recently had a loved one pass of a degenerative disease, this book could be triggering because it dives into full detail about the psychological effects of seeing that and as someone who just lost her father to brain cancer, that was really hard for me.

Overall, though, this book was great and I really enjoyed it.

3.5 out of 5 stars