Reviews

Short story collections have historically been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I’ll find a gem that sticks with me for months and months after the fact, but other times I’ve already left the authors world the second I close the book. This collection was more of the latter. It was definitely an objectively important and interesting and sometimes beautiful collection in its descriptions of the worlds and profound analogies for real life xenophobia and the immigrant experience in the US, but I just did not find it all that engaging. My personal favorites of the collection were “Thoughts and Prayers”, “The Man I Could Be”, and “We Work in Miraculous Cages”, all of which showed completely different sides to the collection. The stories were enjoyable, and I’d definitely read more by Brenda Peynado in the future, but I just don’t think I am creative enough to really vibe with this.

abrswf's review against another edition

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4.0

I read this for my book group. In some ways I'm completely wowed -- the breadth of imagination in these short stories is extraordinary. The premise of one after another took me by surprise and forced me to re-think the world. The writing is fabulously good, too. Almost every story is from a Latinx perspective, which enriches each of them. And finally, Peynado has worked some of the sharpest social commentaries I've read yet into her tales. But . . . an editor was needed for many of these stories, because they are overwritten, tending to repeat themselves. The narrators of the stories needed in many instances to be better fleshed out: a corporate "we," often the teller of these tales, is unsympathetic and was an obstacle to understanding. And lastly, quite a few of these stories needed a clearer plot. They tended to stop and pause on particular but small moments, then suddenly dash to an abrupt stop. One star off for these issues, but I highly recommend this thought-provoking, very original, and insightful collection of stories.

jcschildbach's review against another edition

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5.0

I really loved this story collection, which I bought immediately after reading its write-up from Book Riot. It's hard to characterize, beyond saying it combines elements of science fiction and magical realism, with plenty of social commentary baked in. But that description makes it sound much less engaging than it is. Each story sets up its own kind of reality. Peynado's writing is so skillful and self-assured that she just pulls you in and pulls you along, even as many of the stories contain fantastical premises grounded in real-world troubles.

patrickmichael's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

lela's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

"We were made from American mistakes and our own desires"

I thought this was a really strong short story collection, the writing was absolutely beautiful and the use of speculative/fantastical elements very impactful

I think I enjoyed the first half a little bit more than the second and there were a few narrators on the audiobook I really didn't love but for the most part I'd rate each story between a 3.5 and a 5

Thoughts and Prayers, Yaiza, and What we lost we're my favorites (The Dreamers and Catarina were both up there as well)

ale_ja's review against another edition

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2.5

i considered stopping after the first story but had too much hope for improvement, the themes every blurb & synopsis frames as being the core of peynado’s work r the ones she handles the worst: race above all, class & xenophobia close behind.. the best stories in this collection r those that aren’t built on heavy handed extended metaphors & guilt but they r few & far between

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