Status Updates From The Brush: Poems

Overall, it was an amazing read, but sometimes I couldn't understand the metaphors and imagery used, to the point that I wonder if certain words are meant to portray the victims or the criminals.

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you Edelweiss and Archipelago Books for the e-ARC!

It reminded me a bit of Space Invaders by Nona Fernandez, in the sense that both writers chose to not portray the horrifying details, opting instead for metaphors to explain the dark and gory aspects of the event. I personally think this choice is rightfully made to honor the victims as well as to not evoke emotions simply using "shock value"; however, the imagery sometimes eluded me which left me confused.

In this book, nature speaks for the victims and against the perpetrators. The Brush humanizes and honors the survivors and victims of this horrific crime, and rebukes and questions the integrity and morals of the perpetrators (the paramilitary officers, the bystanders, the politicians, those who knew and looked away). The Brush is a grim yet powerful portrait on this tragic massacre.

The massacre in El Salado in 2000 has remained mostly obscure, even though the events that took place were horrifying, macabre, inhumane. In this collection of interconnected poems, Eliana Hernández-Pachón portrayed this bloody scene in a way that requires no blood at all.