We all live Charlie’s story, his is just compressed, we start off dumb, we got through puberty and eventually reach the peak of our powers and then slowly the mind and the body deteriorates until we are just babes again needing simple attentions and not quite the sharp tool we once were. That’s what I love about the story, and why it resonates with us all.
I read a lot of reviews about this book being a great horror that put Mexican culture up front. What I felt was that I got a fairly rote Hammer Horror gothic where England was crossed out and replaced with Mexico.
The writing was good, the atmosphere great, but it didn’t really do anything different to warrant the plaudits.