Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Five Wounds

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

38 reviews

ashwaar's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is death, then: a brief spot of light on earth extinguished, a rippling point of energy swept clear. A kiss, a song, the warm circle of a stranger’s arms—these things and others—the whole crush of memory and hope, the constant babble of the mind, everything that composes a person—gone.

As in the above quote, the writing in The Five Wounds is absolutely beautiful. Our story follows the Padilla family in the remote, forgotten town of Las Penas in New Mexico. Amadeo has been chosen to play the crucified Jesus in the annual Good Friday procession when his mother, Yolanda, receives an unexpected medical diagnosis, and his 15-year-old pregnant daughter, Angel, turns up on his doorstep after a fight with her mother. Despite the challenging circumstances and questionable decisions, the new infant brings several generations together and pushes them to re-evaluate their choices, identities and importance to those closest to them.

The story tells the harsh reality of living in a small, dwindling community in America that nobody seems to care about and what happens to the people who grow up in these places and the futures they’re told they can never have. There are some really strong commentaries on the problems afflicting these small communities, and I have provided trigger warnings below, but it can make it a little harrowing to read at times.

I want to be clear that all the characters are deeply flawed and really quite unlikeable. They make mistakes, don’t take responsibility, run away from their problems and get caught up in fantasies without thinking about reality. But you still root for them far more than the people or challenges they come up against. You keep wanting them to do better, even if you sometimes have to put the book down out of sheer frustration that they’re making terrible choices.. again…

In addition, some characters are a bit over the top, like Angel’s teacher, Brianna, who cannot get over the fact that she’s a virgin and feels inferior in educating these young women on childbirth and parenthood. Lizette can also be written a little over the top at times, and it feels a bit exploitative to the reader.

However, the writing is beautiful, and the family are messed up and broken but slowly putting themselves back together and creating something that isn’t perfect but is theirs, and that's really admirable. It’s a bit on the long side, and I found it faltered in pace at some points, but overall, it's a really strong, challenging, character-focused read.

Rating: 4.25/5

Recommendations: Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Trigger Warnings: addiction, alcoholism, cancer, car accident, death, domestic abuse, grief, medical content, pregnancy, rape, self harm, sexual assault, terminal illness

Content Warnings

jesshindes's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-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

5.0

This was another one from my Moon Lane Books subscription and a really solid pick to round out the year. It's a family drama set in Mexico focusing on a year in the life of a three-generation family: from pregnant 16-year-old Angel through her father Amadeo (in his 30s, a drinker, very conscious that he hasn't achieved what he might in life), to grandmother Yolanda who is suddenly forced to acknowledge that it's not going to be possible for her to carry everybody on her back forever. Things change a lot for everybody in the course of the year that the novel covers, not in a way that feels forced or implausible but more in a way that reminds you that life even in a small backwater town is still full of big feelings and enormous moments, because that's what life is.

When a book like this is done well it's reliably the kind of thing I love, and this one is done very well; all of the supporting characters are well-rounded and the relationships between everybody are complicated, plausible, and just feel like they matter. Even when the characters are unkind or stupid or reckless, you care about them; you want them to be okay. That carries you right through the story. I hadn't heard of this one before it came up as an option in the book subscription but I definitely recommend it!

Content Warnings

abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

Stunning, a new favourite for sure. A must read if you’re a fan of generational stories.

Content Warnings

maevebm's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad 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

4.0

A heartbreaking story about a broken family. The writing was beautiful & captures each character’s flaws and joys beautifully.

Content Warnings

bandysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a story that follows the members of one family over the course of roughly a year. Each family member is relatively dysfunctional and has made mistakes. Now, with things changing they are each forced to grow and change.

I thought this book was pretty interesting. All of the characters are highly dysfunctional, but still relatable. I personally felt frustrated with them on many occasions, but ultimately couldn’t help but root for them.

I did find the pacing a little bit slow. At times the story did drag a bit or get a little redundant, but it was a minor thing.

All in all, if you really like deep explorations of characters and their motivations, this is for you!

Content Warnings