Book Review - Thirst
A novel in two parts, Thirst is the English-language debut from Argentinian author Marina Yuszczuk, exploring the inexorable connection between a vampire and a writer. Yuszczuk splits this story into two halves each set in a different time period with a different perspective character. The first half of the novel is the unnamed vampire’s story — her prehistory and how she comes to reside in Buenos Aires just prior to the outbreak of yellow fever. This half of the novel plays the vampire story standards; fatal hungers, blood-drenched white dresses, and inescapable melancholy. The vampire is parasitic, yet also a cruel animal, and in her un-death is beyond human morality.
The latter half of the novel is set in the present day and follows Alma, a writer, who is grappling with her mother’s debilitating terminal illness. Alma’s mother is slowly succumbing to a paralysis which robs her of her dignity, but not her mind. This handling of terminal illness feels pertinent in our current era of cultural debate around assisted dying and ongoing hospice care. Alma is forced to watch her mother’s life be medically extended to the point of cruelty.
The exploration of medical and technological advancement as social upset is intriguing and the development of this theme is integral to Thirst’s successes, which are facilitated by the bifurcated structure of the novel. Yuszczuk’s interpretations of vampire lore feel current to the anxieties of the contemporary era — indeed the building anticipation of the eventual meeting between Alma and the vampire is a high point born of this novel’s structure.
There is however a certain weakness in the writing which prevents Thirst from excelling as contemporary gothic fiction. Yuszczuk’s prose tends to be highly functional and not particularly ornate or complex. There’s something about the gothic novel, the vampire story, which begs a more baroque imagination. In promotional materials, the publisher draws comparison to Shirley Jackson and Daphne Du Maurier — both authors whose style of dense prose elevates their work. This is a shame because when Yuszczuk lets herself slip into genre writing, there are some arrestingly beautiful and evocative sentences. In Thirst’s best moments there is something electrifying in her writing, but Yuszczuk is largely too restrained.
Thirst is an excellent book for one of two imagined readers — the first is the uncritical lover of the vampire story who will be excited to discover this novel does indeed contain a vampire. The second imagined reader hasn’t picked up a novel with a vampire, a ghost, or other gothic terror in about five years and will be completely delighted to re-discover this genre. For the lover of gothic fiction though this novel is a little oversold by the lofty claims of the publisher. “A breakout, genre-blurring novel” promises the back cover, and in this respect it disappoints as Thirst reads as rather standard for the gothic genre. In fairness it is well elevated over some of its more pedestrian vampiric peers, but Thirst unfortunately falls just shy of brilliance.
Thirst is available to purchase in stores and online now. Click here for more info.