Thirst

I received a digital advance copy of Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk (tranlated by Heather Cleary) via NetGalley. Thirst is scheduled for release on March 5, 2024.

Thirst follows two women. Maria is a nineteenth century vampire newly relocated to Buenos Aires from Europe. She is faced with a population plagued by yellow fever and her own insatiable thirst. Alma is a current day woman, faced with the mortality of her mother, and struggling to define herself as a mother to her own child. The two women are linked through a cemetery crypt, and their meeting changes them both forever.

This story is told in two parts. The first half is narrated by Maria, and the second by Alma. Both halves are written in a style that I found a bit distancing. The narrators are telling the reader what happened, but there are very few scenes. The result was a feeling of distance from the events of the story and the characters themselves. This distance also made some sections of the novel feel slow, as we were presented with large chunks of summary.

I did appreciate the new take on a vampire novel. The main characters here are women, which is a bit unusual in a vampire novel. These are women who are dealing with life’s issues, but are not waiting around to be rescued (or preyed upon) by a man. I do wish we had gotten to know both of them better, as that would have made the resolution of the novel more satisfying.

Overall, Thirst is a women-forward vampire tale that deals with desire, family, and mortality. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy a slower paced narrative novel.