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danicareads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
floralfox's review against another edition
3.0
Irma Voth is a young woman that has immigrated from Canada to Mexico with her family to live in a Mennonite village. The novel opens with her marriage to Jorge, a local, and her father's rage that she has married outside of the Mennonite community. Her father demands and forces the young couple to live in another house on the family lot and work the farm, but he refuses to pay them and has shunned them so that nobody in the family may talk to them. Jorge, restless and sketchy, disappears for long bouts of time. Irma spends most of her time alone, and she is very uncertain of herself (to most questions she is asked during the entirety of the novel, she answers, "I don't know.")
Her little sister Aggie often sneaks away to talk to Irma, and her mother sends things along, so her relationships with the other women in her family aren't ruined but they are maintained secretly.
Irma's father is angry and upset that a movie director has come to shoot a movie about Mennonites in the village. Irma, who can speak German, Spanish, and English, ends up working as a translator on the movie. The script is written in Spanish, but performed in German by a German actress who is anxious and worried most of the time. Somehow, working on the movie gives Irma a sense of purpose that she hasn't had before (in one scene, from her childhood, Irma recalls going to the doctor because she believes she has died, but doesn't know how or why and can't determine if she herself is actually still alive). She wonders, “How do I behave in this world without following the directions of my father, my husband, or God?”
You think the movie-making business is going to be the main part of the novel, but is isn't.
Eventually we learn that Irma's father's history of abuse is long and dark. Aggie keeps coming to the set to visit and Irma keeps insisting she needs to go home. One night Irma hears her mother and two young brother singing (psalms, I think?) in the middle of the night and realizes what is happening. She rushes into the house, catches her father beating Aggie, and takes Aggie away from him to live with her. They are still in dire straits, though, with no money and with the threat that Irma's father is going to kick them out of the house so that another family can move in.
Irma's mother is pregnant again, and she gives birth to the baby without Irma's knowledge. Irma sells all of the drugs that her husband has been storing at their place to run away and get Aggie far away from her father. But her mother insists that she take the new baby girl, too. She knows that her husband is a violent misogynist and that she will lose this girl, too. She tells Irma to take little Ximena and she will just tell the father that she has died of a disease that requires a quick burial (he will believe it because it is not the first time one of their babies has died of this disease).
The second part of the novel follows Irma and Aggie in Chihuahua City finding a way to settle and survive, and we learn that the reason they immigrated to Mexico was because their father killed their older sister Katie and tried to present it to the police as an accident. They weren't buying it. A young, teenage Irma lied to the police to protect their father, and they disappeared into the night.
The novel ended a little abruptly to me and seemed to be juggling many different storylines, so I gave it 3 stars. I still enjoyed it because Toews is a uniquely talented writer, but I didn't feel like it was my favorite of her works.
Her little sister Aggie often sneaks away to talk to Irma, and her mother sends things along, so her relationships with the other women in her family aren't ruined but they are maintained secretly.
Irma's father is angry and upset that a movie director has come to shoot a movie about Mennonites in the village. Irma, who can speak German, Spanish, and English, ends up working as a translator on the movie. The script is written in Spanish, but performed in German by a German actress who is anxious and worried most of the time. Somehow, working on the movie gives Irma a sense of purpose that she hasn't had before (in one scene, from her childhood, Irma recalls going to the doctor because she believes she has died, but doesn't know how or why and can't determine if she herself is actually still alive). She wonders, “How do I behave in this world without following the directions of my father, my husband, or God?”
You think the movie-making business is going to be the main part of the novel, but is isn't.
Spoiler
Eventually we learn that Irma's father's history of abuse is long and dark. Aggie keeps coming to the set to visit and Irma keeps insisting she needs to go home. One night Irma hears her mother and two young brother singing (psalms, I think?) in the middle of the night and realizes what is happening. She rushes into the house, catches her father beating Aggie, and takes Aggie away from him to live with her. They are still in dire straits, though, with no money and with the threat that Irma's father is going to kick them out of the house so that another family can move in.
Irma's mother is pregnant again, and she gives birth to the baby without Irma's knowledge. Irma sells all of the drugs that her husband has been storing at their place to run away and get Aggie far away from her father. But her mother insists that she take the new baby girl, too. She knows that her husband is a violent misogynist and that she will lose this girl, too. She tells Irma to take little Ximena and she will just tell the father that she has died of a disease that requires a quick burial (he will believe it because it is not the first time one of their babies has died of this disease).
The second part of the novel follows Irma and Aggie in Chihuahua City finding a way to settle and survive, and we learn that the reason they immigrated to Mexico was because their father killed their older sister Katie and tried to present it to the police as an accident. They weren't buying it. A young, teenage Irma lied to the police to protect their father, and they disappeared into the night.
The novel ended a little abruptly to me and seemed to be juggling many different storylines, so I gave it 3 stars. I still enjoyed it because Toews is a uniquely talented writer, but I didn't feel like it was my favorite of her works.
jennaclaireclouse's review against another edition
4.0
First half was enjoyable but not gripping - second half had me fully in. Similar stream of consciousness, all dialogue writing as Fight Night but that book I loved.
emjay2021's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautiful, spare book. I think Miriam Toews' writing is getting better with each book.
sofiamarielg's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I liked [b:Irma Voth|10238952|Irma Voth|Miriam Toews|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327953268s/10238952.jpg|15138964], but I did find my interest dipping significantly as I reached the halfway point of the novel. I had read [b:All My Puny Sorrows|18339630|All My Puny Sorrows|Miriam Toews|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416181263s/18339630.jpg|25892986] some years ago, which was brilliant and soul-wrenching. So, I eagerly picked this one up at the library, albeit I had been in search of [b:A Complicated Kindness|13374|A Complicated Kindness|Miriam Toews|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1434887050s/13374.jpg|970518] (which I later discovered had a waitlist in the high double digits). I liked Towes's characters, but most of the dialogue was semi-philosophical inanities. In addition, the big reveal/twist was easily guessed much earlier, which actually made me wonder if it was supposed to be a surprise at all? Something to ponder. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the juxtaposition of Mexican and Mennonite cultures, made all the more complex by Irma's underlying Canadian identity. It made for some very interesting observations.
melledotca's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't finish. I've accepted that I just can't read her stuff. Her style and her characters annoy the crap outta me.
fwagler's review against another edition
4.0
I have been waiting to read this book for a while (on the holds list at the library) and was a little disappointed when I started reading it. Is this really what I was waiting for? It's really slow to get into to, and I kept wondering if it was going to get any better. About half way through, the story finally picked up and it got a whole lot better. In the end, I was hoping for a bit more but was happy that it was more interesting than I expected reading the beginning of the book.
bookishlifeofbrie's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
I'm not sure what to think or to say about this book. The first half was a bit slow and boring, but the last half was much more interesting and engaging. Which makes me think a lot of people probably abandoned the book before it ever got "good". I consider myself a fan of Toews' work, but this one just didn't do it for me.
Our main character is Irma Voth. Irma is 19 years old and a Canadian Mennonite now living in rural Mexico with her father, mother, sister and two brothers. Except Irma fell in love with a Mexican boy, married him and now has been shunned from her family and her home. Irma and Jorges live in one of the houses her father owns for free as long as they do their farm choose, but Irma is not allowed to see her family.
Near the beginning of the book, Jorges leaves Irma and a Mexican film crew takes up residence on their farm and begin to shoot a movie. Irma slowly befriends them and becomes involved. (This is the first half of the book). Tensions between Irma's sister and her father are rising, and fearing for their lives, they take off to Mexico City in search of a better life...Jorges...jobs.
Irma's character really shone for me in the second half. Gone was the timid girl, living in the shadow of her father's wrath. In Mexico City (and en route to it) Irma was tough, street smart and resourceful. Had this book taken place anywhere else, I'm not sure I would have believed the outcome of two young, blonde girls looking for a place to live and work in Mexico City.
The ending was sweet, and did redeem the beginning half of the book for me. But would I recommend this book to someone else? No. Did I like the book overall? Not really, and I'm pretty sure I'll be unable to recall any of it in a few months. So 2.5 stars it is.
I'm not sure what to think or to say about this book. The first half was a bit slow and boring, but the last half was much more interesting and engaging. Which makes me think a lot of people probably abandoned the book before it ever got "good". I consider myself a fan of Toews' work, but this one just didn't do it for me.
Our main character is Irma Voth. Irma is 19 years old and a Canadian Mennonite now living in rural Mexico with her father, mother, sister and two brothers. Except Irma fell in love with a Mexican boy, married him and now has been shunned from her family and her home. Irma and Jorges live in one of the houses her father owns for free as long as they do their farm choose, but Irma is not allowed to see her family.
Near the beginning of the book, Jorges leaves Irma and a Mexican film crew takes up residence on their farm and begin to shoot a movie. Irma slowly befriends them and becomes involved. (This is the first half of the book). Tensions between Irma's sister and her father are rising, and fearing for their lives, they take off to Mexico City in search of a better life...Jorges...jobs.
Irma's character really shone for me in the second half. Gone was the timid girl, living in the shadow of her father's wrath. In Mexico City (and en route to it) Irma was tough, street smart and resourceful. Had this book taken place anywhere else, I'm not sure I would have believed the outcome of two young, blonde girls looking for a place to live and work in Mexico City.
The ending was sweet, and did redeem the beginning half of the book for me. But would I recommend this book to someone else? No. Did I like the book overall? Not really, and I'm pretty sure I'll be unable to recall any of it in a few months. So 2.5 stars it is.
pearloz's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised by how good the writing was; not over the top, not trying-too-hard, just good solid writing. I became interested initially because of the framework of the story: the filming of a movie set in Low-German speaking Mennonite community in Mexico. Obviously, this was based on the filming of Silent Light a great movie from a great, Mexican director of whom I am very fond, Carlos Reygadas (trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etIzLiJfhqA). Miriam Toews, the author here, was an actor in the movie as well and the novel has a feeling of authenticity throughout that couldn't have been accomplished otherwise. Anyhow...great book.
moirastone's review against another edition
2.0
Scathing scenes of movie director hubris are always welcome. But in this case the director in question is a not-very-thinly-veiled-at-all Carlos Reygadas, and the film shoot that provides the backbone of this novel's plot is Silent Light, and I found myself irrationally angry at Miriam Toews for daring to offer an unflattering perspective on a movie I dearly loved. I am not particularly proud of this reaction, but there it is.