This is such an unflinchingly queer novel, in the truest sense of the word. I'm not usually one for more experimental novels, but this was such a whirlwind of a read. I'm glad I pushed through and challenged myself in reading this, and I feel that I got a lot out of it.

<i>Galapagos</i> follows a group of queer artists as they begin to decompose: first Lorenzo losing fingernails, and then other parts of themselves. They sail to the Galapagos islands together, sharing stories and lives as their bodies begin to rot around them.

This isn't an easy read, or a particularly light one. We, the audience, understand that Lorenzo and his friends are dying from AIDS. The descriptions aren't gratuitous necessarily, but they are grotesque. And this sense of decay followed me throughout the read as they reminisce and wonder and live.

I suspect that Fatima Velez is likely also a poet, and I suspect that Hannah Kauders had a hell of a job to translate this to English. The language is fast and feels like falling, lending itself to a rapid read, but I found myself often slowing down, making sure to parse everything as it was happening. This is an incredibly tender story about how we can continue to make art even in the worst times, even as our lives and bodies and friends fall apart around us. There is a core resilience and joy for living that makes this a queer classic in my mind.

Recommended for: anyone putting together a queer literature syllabus, those interested in challenging, artistic, experimental language, maybe the queer elder in your life.

This was a surreal story about a group of artists dying of AIDS. A central theme emerged around the desire to create in the face of death, but the novel touches on other aspects of illness, as well. It was occasionally gruesome, mostly in the second part, as it looked unflinchingly at the progression of the characters’ disease.

I was particularly struck by the first half of the novel, as we watch the characters first start to fall ill and die. The second half is a lot… weirder… as the characters embark on a voyage and spend their final days making up stories, sharing their histories, and making art. Here the author examines gender, class and sexuality.

It wasn’t my favorite novel but it was worth sitting with. I was really struck by how devastating HIV/AIDS was to this community of artists, and how relatively young the most affected age group was for this disease in the 80s-90s.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Ultimately, I had to DNF. Despite the advertised grotesquities, it was simply much too much for me. Maybe I can give it another shot later.

Galápagos by Fátima Vélez is a deeply immersive novel that explores human resilience, memory, and the ways we navigate loss and connection. Vélez’s writing is vivid and precise, drawing the reader into her characters’ inner worlds with elegance and emotional depth. The narrative reveals layers of grief, hope, and personal transformation that linger long after finishing the book.

I was especially drawn to how the story balances intimacy with broader philosophical reflections, making it both personal and expansive. The prose is engaging, the characters are nuanced, and the emotional stakes feel authentic throughout.

Note for readers and the publisher: This book is only accessible through the NetGalley app. I think it’s really frustrating to restrict it this way and it limits the potential reach and perspective for the author, even though this isn’t the author’s fault. The story itself is a good read, however the reading format issue makes it harder for people to engage.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Astra Publishing House for providing an advanced digital copy of this book.

This is an eerie book about a bunch of gay bohemians who decide to spend their last days with AIDS as it kills them sailing a boat around the European coast and basically fully living it up and eventually drifting towards the Galapagos. It's essentially a modern plague novel that focuses on how these men choose to meet their fate and art in the face of death. Gorgeous translation.

It took me a while to get into this book. The way that it is written makes this a tough read in the beginning. Once you wrap your head around the unique writing style you will fly through this book. I enjoyed it, but it isn't for everyone.

This was a tough read at times but I love something that makes you just a little uncomfortable. It was difficult, it pushes you away but despite that, you can’t stop reading it. Galapagos was a fever dream of a read; odd, unsettling and all together strange but that’s everything that I want in a book. It’s confusing and at times hard to follow but if you let go of the reins and let it take you where it takes you, I think you might just enjoy it.

I think if I was to describe this book in one word, it would be 'liminal'. Throughout the entire story, everything is changing - despite what the characters desire, if they desire anything. It's generally a change for the worse, but clinging to a status quo they know only makes the worsening even worse.

This is a very messy, queer story. It is messy in both a very physical way, as the characters decay but also in a moral way - there are no heroes here. The characters are very queer, in a way that is more complicated than any one label can really ascribe to them. They cling to each other, despite everything. The book is not 'satisfying' but I don't think it is trying to be, because life is rarely 'satisfying' either.

This is NOT a book for the faint of heart, due to the quite gruesome descriptions of bodies falling apart as well as rather blasé mentions of rape and murder.

I really liked the first half of the story, which acts as a lead up to the second. This is a story that actually starts in a grounded way but leans more and more fantastical as the disease (which we know is HIV/AIDS despite not being named) progresses.

However, I didn't really like the lack of speech marks for dialogue as I sometimes got confused as to what was meant to be dialogue and what was meant to be narration/description. I do understand this is meant to help with the liminal or 'blurry' feeling of the book but it personally made me need to re-read several sections.

I also think the book is a bit... racist. There is one Indigenous character who is othered by the others (who are white or I think light skinned) and while this is a character flaw of those characters I do think that the narration should have done more to flesh him out rather than other and fetishize him which is what it did in my opinion.

I do think the book did raise interesting questions on class and gender politics. The misogyny that can be in the gay community is very much examined here, as well as the fact a good number of the characters come from a place of privilege (even if they are from colonised countries like Columbia)

With all that said, if the one minor and one major issue I had with the book don't bother you then I do recommend giving this a read. But you would need to be in the right mood for it!

Before you think of picking this book up I just want you to know that this isn't a story you “enjoy” especially based on that whimsical cover– it’s more like a fever dream you get dragged into and can’t shake off. It’s very VERY grotesque, poetic, confusing, and sometimes straight-up disgusting, but also beautiful in this haunting way.

Reading it felt like watching people fall apart and still somehow keep living like watching films, writing letters, drinking too much, making art, even as their bodies are literally decomposing. It’s gross, but it’s also tender. I kept swinging between feeling repulsed and completely mesmerized. There’s not really a neat plot or comforting resolution here. Instead the author throws you into this world where desire and decay, love and illness, creativity and destruction all blur together. It feels messy and extreme, but that’s what makes it so powerful. It's art.

Honestly, this isn’t an easy read. It made me uncomfortable, it pushed me away, and then it pulled me right back in. But by the end I felt like I’d gone somewhere I couldn’t have reached with any other book; a place where death and beauty exist side by side. And that is the beauty of LITERATURE.

It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you’re willing to sit with discomfort and let a book crawl under your skin, pick this up because it was unforgettable.

4.5 ⭐️ Thank you Astra Publishing House for my advance reading copy!

This was a great debut novel from Fátima Vélez, it had that element of realistic and I cared about what was happening with the characters. I thought the characters were realistic and I cared about what was happening with the characters, it does a great job in showing the illness and how it affects people. I look forward to reading more from Fátima Vélez as this was really well done.

This book is not going to be for everyone, but it was for me.
Really enjoyed te writing style, the stream of consciousness with no ending or pauses. It makes the book go faster in my opinion, and it's already a short book. I also really loved some of the dialogues between characters an some of the internal monologue from the narrator. There's some grossnes, some vulgarity, some simply human things in this book that I loved.

Reading on the NetGalley app was definitely a flaw. It is great for comics, etc..., but it doesn't do books well

That said. I quite liked the story and Vélez's style. I found it original and enjoyable.

If I’d known I’d have to read this through the NetGalley app I wouldn’t have requested it. I’m interested in reading this but not on my phone so I will come back to this when it’s released for kindle or audio.