Are you searching for a spine-tingling sapphic read to round out your October TBR? Look no further! Thirst is a gorgeous Gothic novel that follows two women across two different time periods as they grapple with their seemingly insatiable desires. Written by Marina Yuszczuk (she/her) and translated by Heather Cleary, Thirst is told in two parts.
In Part One, a lone vampire determined to begin anew arrives in nineteenth-century Buenos Aires from Europe. A “mysterious, polyglot foreigner,” she lives as a vagabond, quenching her thirst as discreetly as possible. She is sexually fluid, but her connections are few, far between, and fleeting, at best. Her main priorities are feeding and maintaining her anonymity—neither of which foster lasting relationships.
In Part Two, a woman in present-day Buenos Aires is in the midst of an existential crisis. Her mother is dying and, even though she, too, is a mother, her connection to her life feels increasingly tenuous. “Death was on the horizon, yes, but so was this adult life of mine that had disappointed me in nearly every possible way.” When she crosses paths with the vampire in the cemetery, the trajectory of her life is forever changed.
I really enjoyed this novel. Yuszczuk’s writing is beautiful and flows so effortlessly I was not surprised to learn that she is also a poet. She also did a masterful job of developing the vampire’s character over the centuries. While I didn’t always like her, I came to realize that I oddly revered her. Self-possessed and self-sufficient, the vampire put her wants and needs above all else. It was refreshing to read about a selfish and unapologetic female protagonist who challenges gender and sexuality norms.
As a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, I also loved how Yuszczuk tracked the evolution of the criminal justice system over the centuries. It’s no spoiler that the vampire killed countless people with relative impunity. The possibility that she might one day be caught and held accountable for her misdeeds added to the novel’s suspenseful atmosphere.
While the vampire’s character development was excellent, I found the present-day woman’s was somewhat lacking. I understood that she was dissatisfied with her life and was yearning for something more, but I didn’t believe it. I also wished that Yuszczuk would have elaborated on the vampire’s supernatural tendencies. Although I generally dislike excessive exposition, I would have appreciated some clarity as to the extent of her abilities to properly contextualize what was occurring at various points in the novel.
Overall, I found Thirst to be a quick and engaging read and wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who can stomach the trigger warnings.
Marina Yuszczuk is an Argentinian writer. She is a founding editor of Rosa Iceberg, a press focused on publishing writing by women. Although Thirst is her first book published in the United States, she has authored multiple books of poetry, short-story collections, and novels. You can find her on Instagram @marinayuszczuk.
Trigger warnings for gore, death, murder, suicide, assisted suicide, confinement, child abuse, and plague.
Raquel R. Rivera (she/her/ella) is a Latina lawyer and lady lover from New Jersey. She is in a lifelong love affair with books and earned countless free personal pan pizzas from the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program as a kid to prove it.
