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ashvini's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Five Wounds is truly a character-driven work of literary fiction.
It follows the Padilla family in the deprived town of Española in New Mexico, at the start of Holy Week. Armadeo is an unemployed thirty-two-year-old who finds purpose and a sense of rebirth in his newly-appointed role of Jesus in the local Church's passion play. He's self-centred and oblivious to the daily needs of his mom and daughter. Yolanda, the matriarch, has just received fatal and life-changing news. Angel, sixteen years old and pregnant, has just fled her mother's home and is grappling with her stepfather's abuse, the lack of dependable adults in her life, and planning for her future.
Over the course of the story, we are fully immersed into these characters' lives; not only with regards to their socio-economic conditions (poverty, unemployment, teen pregnancy, alcoholism etc), but also with their character quips (interests, desires, longings, and heartaches).
For me, this book inspired a lot of thought about our universal need for attention, what it means to fail and how hard it can be to overcome our circumstances.
There's a lot to unpack here and I think I would benefit from a second reading. That said, I did find that at times this book felt long and slower-paced than I usually prefer. It took a long time for all the details that were being woven together to finally click into a comprehensive pattern.
Nonetheless, the place I was transported to while reading this book and the characters I encountered is a journey I'll be thinking about for a long time.
It follows the Padilla family in the deprived town of Española in New Mexico, at the start of Holy Week. Armadeo is an unemployed thirty-two-year-old who finds purpose and a sense of rebirth in his newly-appointed role of Jesus in the local Church's passion play. He's self-centred and oblivious to the daily needs of his mom and daughter. Yolanda, the matriarch, has just received fatal and life-changing news. Angel, sixteen years old and pregnant, has just fled her mother's home and is grappling with her stepfather's abuse, the lack of dependable adults in her life, and planning for her future.
Over the course of the story, we are fully immersed into these characters' lives; not only with regards to their socio-economic conditions (poverty, unemployment, teen pregnancy, alcoholism etc), but also with their character quips (interests, desires, longings, and heartaches).
For me, this book inspired a lot of thought about our universal need for attention, what it means to fail and how hard it can be to overcome our circumstances.
There's a lot to unpack here and I think I would benefit from a second reading. That said, I did find that at times this book felt long and slower-paced than I usually prefer. It took a long time for all the details that were being woven together to finally click into a comprehensive pattern.
Nonetheless, the place I was transported to while reading this book and the characters I encountered is a journey I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Grief, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Terminal illness
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