*Death Takes Me* by Cristina Garza is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that showcases the beauty of translated literature. I’m always drawn to translated works because they often offer a fresh and unique perspective, and this book is no exception. Garza’s storytelling pulled me in from the very first page with its hauntingly poetic quality.

The novel centers around a poet, and the prose mirrors that by weaving a tapestry of emotions, reflections, and philosophical musings. The language flows like poetry, making each page feel like a deeply introspective journey. There’s a sense of intimacy in Garza’s writing that keeps you engaged, almost like you’re sharing the poet’s inner thoughts.

However, the plot itself felt somewhat incomplete. While I was thoroughly immersed in the poetic narrative, the story didn’t provide the closure I expected. It left certain aspects unresolved, which might frustrate some readers, but it also leaves room for reflection. Despite this, I still found the book to be a rewarding experience. Its lyrical nature and exploration of life, death, and the complexities of the human spirit make it a worthwhile read, even if the plot didn’t fully come together in the way I had hoped.

Cristina Rivera Garza’s metafictional, prize-winning novel is a dense and demanding crime narrative that challenges readers to explore deeper meanings beyond its surface-level noir plot about brutal murders in a Mexican city. The story subverts traditional detective formulas, focusing on the elusive nature of truth and justice, while intertwining the works of Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik to explore themes of gendered violence, identity, and artistic expression. Through fragmented narrative techniques, philosophical musings, and intertextual references, Rivera Garza critiques writing, authorship, and societal complacency regarding femicides, creating an intricate, thought-provoking work.

this is not the book i expected (much more abstract and literary), but it had moments i really loved!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 28%.

This is so beautifully written. Cristina Rivera Garza showcases stunning penmanship and her ability to bend multiple genders to her will is definitely something worth talking about.

I picked this, assuming, based on its summary, that it was going to be a noir/lit thriller but what started as a pretty interesting premise ended up going into a direction I couldn't follow. I don't mind books that are confusing, nor those who sometimes border on pretentious, but I had a hard time following the story, in all its abstract twists and bursts. I can appreciate a challenging book as well, but IMO, to enjoy this, one must have some educational background in literature criticism and poetry, as well as everything they englobe - from prose to textuality.

If this is neither an area of interest nor knowledge for you, then you might have to skip it.

Dear Author,

I don't know where to begin or how I feel about this book. Did I like it? Did I understand everything you were trying to convey, to keep secret? It warrants another read, this time a bit more slowly. Overall, I enjoyed this mystery. Your words filled me up to the brim and cascaded out all around me, I'm trying to pick them up, cherish them, understand them.


Thank you,

J.D. McCoughtry

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for this e-ARC.

Death Takes Me by Cristina Rivera Garza is a literary crime novel steeped in poetry. This novel explores language in the violence against women through a story about a string of murdered men. The prose is layered and takes work to untangle. This approach is interesting and puts the reader in the position of needing to invest in untangling the mystery. I found myself needing to take my time with this novel in order to stay oriented to the ideas which left me at some emotional distance from the characters. This novel felt ambitious but did not ultimately come together for me. Perhaps on a second read this novel may open itself up differently.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the e-arc.

Where do I begin with this book?! I’ve been looking forward to reading this book since it was announced. I took my time with it. I knew right away that this book required my full attention. It’s def one that I will want to reread soon specially after hearing that the audiobook has multiple narators. I will be honest that there were some parts that left me confused. It made me want to read Alejandra Pizarnik, which I have not read yet. I liked the twist that the victims of the serial killer were not women, but men. It made for some interesting commentary on how victims are treated. Overall, if you’re a fan of CRG books, you will want to add it to your TBR, but its not a book that you can rush through. Its weirder than The Taiga Syndrome, which I loved, but its not as linear. I am glad that I waited for the translated edition because I would have been more lost if I had tried to read it in Spanish!

While there is a mystery at the core, this one wouldn’t satisfy the readers that are there for the crime solving. The crimes and the mystery do serve as a novel backdrop to the literary analysis (esp. Alejandra Pizarnik’s poetry) and social commentary on gender, violence and gendered violence. Garza deployed a lot of different literary devices through the novel through many narrators with varying reliability. It required a willingness to engage with the text and I often felt like the tools I had available were not always sufficient for the level of engagement it needed

The confluence of these elements, coupled with the novel's experimental structural design, combined into a conceptually intriguing work. While I can’t compare it to the original, I think the translators managed to keep the readability high and the flow intact. Even with that, I’m wondering if some things were lost in translation starting from the fact that the word victim is feminine is Spanish, wouldn’t need to get mentioned in the original. Also, had this been available when it was first published, the themes subverting societal norms and the commentary might have been fresher.

Despite my criticism, I mostly enjoyed the time I spent reading it (though the scholarly approach I felt it required felt tedious at times), piecing it out as much as I could. I also think this book has managed to crawl into my mind a bit, and I know I will randomly remember parts of it.

Death Takes Me by Cristina Rivera Garza keeps you hooked till the very end.
A well written suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
A quick and fun read that I finished in a few hours.
The characterization was superb, the writing pacey and flowing, and the tension delivered in a series of shocks and twists along the way.
This is a tightly written story, with well developed characters and enough suspense to keep you reading.

While I think this is an important book about women and sexual violence, I couldn’t finish it. At first the book drew me in and I was intrigued by the narrator, the Detective, and the allusions to Alejandra Pizarnik and her poetry, which I love. I empathize with the author’s anger about male violence against women and the novel's expression of the urge for revenge, but I could not read more than half the book.
I do appreciate what Cristina Rivera Garza has depicted in this book. I am curious about how Pizarnik, an Argentinian lesbian poet, figures throughout the book. I applaud Cristina Rivera Garza for taking on these themes and the terrible age-old crimes agains women. I know her earlier Pulitzer-Prize-winning book about her sister’s murder (femicide) made a big impact on her and in Mexico. The message so far was the heterosexual sex act could end in murder. Trigger warning ‼️

In Death Takes Me, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cristina Rivera Garza presents a genre-defying narrative that intertwines elements of literary fiction, thriller, and metafiction. The story begins with a professor, also named Cristina Rivera Garza, discovering a mutilated corpse during her evening run. This unsettling event propels her into a complex investigation alongside a detective newly captivated by poetry, as they confront a series of murders marked by cryptic messages and ritualistic mutilations.

Rivera Garza's decision to insert a character sharing her name blurs the boundaries between author and protagonist, adding a layer of introspection to the narrative. The novel delves into themes of gendered violence, the interplay between life and literature, and the haunting presence of past traumas. The prose is both incisive and poetic, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that challenges conventional storytelling.

Death Takes Me is a compelling exploration of the intersections between reality and fiction, offering readers a thought-provoking experience that lingers long after the final page.

This book makes you work for it. Unfortunately, I picked this up at a time where I didn't have the capacity to give it the work it demands.

Interesting in premise, I found the writing to be hard to follow and I was not a fan of the main character. there were one or two supporting characters that stood out to me but all in all, one that I will not revisit.

Experimental fiction in the guise of crime noir

A professor named Cristina Rivera Garza (yes, that is also the name of the author, don't be confused) likes to run in her city in places most would avoid or deem unsafe. On just such a run she discovers the mutilated corpse of a man and, as one should, summons the police. She henceforth becomes known as the Informant, as the female police officer who assumes control of the case will be known as The Detective. This will not be the first dead body found with the same injuries to the genital area, and all will be found with snippets of poetry by Alejandra Pizarnik written in nail polish. In a city plagued by violence, the appearance of a serial killer targeting men may only be solved if the Detective (who has a less-than-stellar record of success in her cases) can figure out what the poetry means.
A summary of this novel reads as if this is a thriller, perhaps literary in nature but a thriller nonetheless. It doesn't really read like one, though, much to my disappointment. The author is definitely playing with the genre's conventions, while blending in themes of gender (the victims are men, yet in Spanish the word for victim is feminine, for example), crime and violence, while bringing in aspects of poetry and art. The settings switch between the Detective's office (where the Informant is shown and allowed to handle evidence...odd), the scenes of the crime and the professor's classroom. The writing (in translation from the original Spanish) is well-crafted and requires a reader's concentration as the story avoids conventional structure in its explorations. While I am more than happy as a reader to apply the needed level of focus to what I am reading as long as I find the story worth the effort, that was not the case for me here. To be honest I do not generally enjoy experimental fiction (nor am I a huge poetry buff), and that is certainly what Death Takes Me is, so those reading my review should keep that in mind. Author Cristina Rivera Garza is certainly a gifted writer but her style is not a match for my reading tastes. For those who do enjoy works that are as much about playing with the boundaries of literature as they are a story, who are intrigued by analyzing poetry, or who perhaps are readers of authors like Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Italo Calvino or Julio Cortázar, ignore my observations and give this a try. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Hogarth for allowing me access to this novel in exchange for my honest review.

What a letdown! The summary had me hooked and then the book opens with sentences that don't make any sense. I even tried flipping a few more pages to see if if was some sort of "statement" but it was more of the same. Maybe the story evolves to explain that mess but I couldn't read anymore.

Death Takes Me is an extremely dense read. I guess it would be like trying to read Stephen Graham Jones while tripping on acid. The prose is beautiful and incredibly evocative at times, but I had no idea what was being said probably 60% of the time. There is a loose storyline to follow, but much of this book is more focused on poetry (which, sadly, isn’t my thing) and other literary musings that went way over my head.

Mostly, I think I wasn’t the right audience for this one. Much of the book is focused on the poetry and inner workings of the poet, Alejandra Pizarnik, but again, I’m not super into poetry. If dense books that lean into the meta realm and are written mostly in stream of consciousness style are your vibe, I’d give this one a go. The writing was vivid and the initial storyline appealing, but I had a hard time pushing through this one.

She totally lost me. Is this a noir detective story about a detective (named Christina Rivera) or a book about gendered violence? Is it prose or is it poetry (spoiler-it's both but .....). This seemed straight forward at first what with the murder and the investigation but then it went sideways in a way I can't even explain. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary and/or experimental fiction.

Death Takes Me by Cristina Rivera Garza
Translated by Robin Myers and Sarah Booker
Publication Date: February 25th, 2025

The novel opens with a corpse of a castrated man found by professor Cristina Rivera Garza. Later on, more bodies appear with the same missing part and left with a poem by Alejandra Pizarnik attached to each. A female detective is on the case, but in order to investigate, she will need to get into Pizarniks' works to understand the background and connect them with the case.

There is violence and darkness in the novel and the story is presented in short chapters. Its storytelling is engaging and it's writing experimental with a blend of narrative styles.

In the beginning, it feels like gumshoe episodes, and then the plot gets strange and unclear.
I found this book complex, and probably it isn't for an average reader like me even though, I still find it somehow interesting because of the Pizarnik's references and poetry was appeleaing, but I think if it's read as a noir, I guess it won't be enjoyable.
There was repetition of phrases and words and this time that didn't work for me. Also, I'm still puzzled, and it's hard to get my conclusions on this book but I have no doubt that Cristina Rivera Garza is a great author and everything aspect has a purpose in this novel, I just wish I could understand more her message.

If you like different narrative styles, creative writing, and weird plots, maybe you could find this book to your liking.

Thank you Hogarth and Netgalley for this digital advanced copy.

This book was unlike any book I have ever read. It is both lit-fic and poetry. The way it is written makes you have to read certain sentences or passages over again just to find the meaning or understand the weight of what is being said.

The premise of this book was very interesting and while it does follow an investigation, I would say that this book is more so for lit-fic/poetry fans than those looking for a thriller/crime novel based on the pacing and writing style.

While certain passages and phrases were beautifully written and stuck with me, I also found myself occasionally wanting a more straightforward telling to this story when I found that the pacing seemed slow.

Overall, I’m glad I read this but I would be selective in who I recommend it to. I also wish I was fluent enough to read it in Spanish, as I am unsure if some prose and literary devices were more impactful or effective in Spanish.

Ostensibly a noir about a series of brutally castrated and killed young men, the entanglements of a shady witness (who shares the name of the author), a grizzled female detective, and her partner, this quickly gives way to a surreal Bolano-esque exploration of the relationship or lack thereof between art, desire, and action. The book itself is composed of prose poetry fragments, that while engaging in their collages of grotesque imagery do not cohere till just about halfway when the novel totally collapses in on itself and starts spitting a real, actual academic essay on the sexually charged poetry and failed prose experiments of cult poet Alejandra Pizarnik written by Cristina Rivera Garza (who again also shares her name with one of the novel's three main narrators). At this point, should the reader continue the novel becomes a richly satisfying tale of unfulfilled desire, longing, and female estrangement from the real. One for the heads, as they say.