Thirst: A Novel

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars | 134 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 12-08-2024


About this item

“Vampires are making a comeback, and Yuszczuk is spearheading their revival with this bloody novel.”—The New York Times Book Review

It is the nineteenth century, the twilight of Europe’s bloody bacchanals, and a vampire must escape. She arrives to the coast of Buenos Aires and, for the second time in her life, watches as villages transform into a cosmopolitan city. She adapts, intermingles with humans, and attempts to be discreet.

In present-day Buenos Aires, a woman finds herself at an impasse as she grapples with her mother's terminal illness and her own relationship to motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire in a cemetery, something ignites inside the two women—and they cross a threshold from which there’s no turning back.

With echoes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Thirst plays with the boundaries of the Gothic genre while exploring the limits of female agency, all-consuming desire, and the fragile vitality of even the most immortal of creatures.

“Channeling Carmen Maria Machado and Anne Rice, Yuszczuk reimagines the vampire novel, with a distinctly Latin American feminist Gothic twist.”—The Millions


Top reviews from the United States

A S Linton
4.0 out of 5 stars Buenos Aires Sapphic vampires...
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2024
Perhaps current horror fans somehow missed <I>The Vampire Lestat</i> by Anne Rice, so by making this comparison, I can both support <I>Lestat</i> and illuminate <i>Thirst</i>.

Down with sparkly vampires! Up with moral ambiguity and the gnashing of fangs!

In my opinion the comparison with Lestat is apt: each centers on an immortal blood drinker with a philosophical bent who spends centuries considering truth, evil, value, and meaning, while doing dark deeds in a beautiful, Gothic setting.

In <I>Thirst</i>, we start with a nameless child in a medieval European mountain landscape: a child sacrificed to a monster, and then made into a monster herself. After the villagers storm the castle, killing all of her "sisters" and the creature that sired them, she realizes that she must move, that she has to find a way to adapt to the changes in the world. Before long, she disembarks from a ship into 19th C Buenos Aires, where she hunts and survives, watching to coming and goings of yellow fever, human population, time.

As with Lestat, the vampire kills with brutal carelessness, with sensual care, or with a devilish desire to offend a Christian god. She takes lovers, one of whom betrays her, causing a photograph to be taken –– one of the most feared of trespasses for the vampire.

Meanwhile in present-day Buenos Aires, a woman is caught between caring for her child and caring for her dying mother. She discovers a photography and the key to a long-unopened crypt, and, as one might expect, discovers the vampire.

The first half of the novel, focused on the vampire is a --ahem!--feast of beautiful imagery. Buenos Aires seems like a New Orleans of dark delight; a chamber of commerce couldn't ask for more appealing atmospheric press. The second half, focused on the living, was less compelling to me: the quotidian details and the character's seemingly inexplicable decisions about choosing death over life were not compelling to me.

Nevertheless, this novel is so much more interesting and entertaining than nearly any other "vampire" novel I've read recently, I wish I could prescribe it, like powerful medicine, against anemic genre fiction.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and haunting
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2024
If I hadn't read Marina's accolades at the back of the book, I'd have already assumed she was an accomplished poet. This book is lovely, but brutal; it left me wanting so much more of it and I can think of no better compliment for a piece of art. And, to be clear, I do think this is a piece of art. It is dark, moody, sensual and I'll be thinking about it for the rest of the month at the very least.
Gabriela Freitas
3.0 out of 5 stars A Gothic sapphic story with a vampire and a human? Count me in!
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024
This book caught my attention because of the cover (stunning!) and the premise. A Gothic sapphic story with a vampire and a human? Count me in! However, the execution left much to be desired.
In Thirst, we have two timelines and distinct points of view: first, we follow a vampire who flees Europe at the dawn of World War II and takes refuge in Buenos Aires. The descriptions of the city, its development throughout the decades, and the scenes set in Cementerio del Norte (nowadays called Recoleta), were definitely highlights of this book. However, the city seems more real, well-described, and with greater depth than the characters themselves.
I was very happy to read a book by an Argentine female author, but unfortunately, the writing did not stand out to me, and neither did the voices of the two protagonists, which were virtually identical. In the present, we follow a single mother dealing with her mother's degenerative disease. This part was the most engaging for me because I could clearly feel her pain and put myself in her shoes. However, I believe it was a marketing mistake to promote this novel as a queer romance, given that the characters only interact after 80% of the book, and a completely unbelievable instalove develops between them, which means the resolution at the end did not please me at all.
Having said that, the background of the book (a historical and then modern Buenos Aires), the gothic descriptions, and some specific moments (the plague that falls upon the city in the 20th century; Alma's human conflicts) made this book a 3-star read for me. I enjoyed reading it, I just expected more, and I'd recommend it to certain audiences.

Bookstagram: @narrativasinfinitas
Laura Jennison
4.0 out of 5 stars Female vampire, but no real romance
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024
My Thoughts: The first half of the book is the story of the vampire as she remembers it. She is very animalistic in her hunting and consumption. There is nothing really romantic about her at this point even though she has a dalliance with a young man.

The second half of the book takes place in current times. It's told from a young mother's point of view from before she attracts the vampire's attention to the end. Again there seemed to be little romance.Still, they are drawn to each other for whatever reason. Perhaps loneliness is the biggest motivator. I had trouble understanding the decision of the modern woman at the end though there was foreshadowing.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. The prose is lush and descriptive, at times dreamlike. I think the translator did a great job. The theme of death is carried throughout. It's interesting to see the different deaths and the results. If you enjoy vampire stories this makes a good read. Just don't expect a romantic view of vampires.

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk was published March 5th, 2024 by Dutton.

i received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion.
Duchess of Dork
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2024
Great vampire story! I loved the main characters and the writing style. A quick read for sure, but one worth your time.
Crista
3.0 out of 5 stars Not that sapphic
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2024
This wasn’t quite what I had expected but it was still an interesting story. It felt birth rushed and too slow at some parts and I did skim through some longer sections.

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