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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Beautiful and Satisfying
I never give five stars. Never. But there was no doubt for me here. The beautiful narration flowed smoothly, the characters were vibrant and fleshed our, and I was engrossed from beginning to end. I only wish I spoke Spanish and could have enjoyed this novel in its original language, since language and Spanish culture are so deeply entwined and engrained into the fabric of this story. Read this book.
I never give five stars. Never. But there was no doubt for me here. The beautiful narration flowed smoothly, the characters were vibrant and fleshed our, and I was engrossed from beginning to end. I only wish I spoke Spanish and could have enjoyed this novel in its original language, since language and Spanish culture are so deeply entwined and engrained into the fabric of this story. Read this book.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It started off strong but got super slow as it went along. I finished it, barely. It would have been much improved by cutting 200 pages. I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend.
“Tell them to walk in the shade. To listen with their eyes, to see with their skin, and to feel with their ears, because life speaks to us all and we just need to know and wait to listen to it, see it, feel it.”
“she understood that, while life offers no guarantees, sometimes it does offer gifts;”
I know I’m a little late to this one, but I’m so happy to have finally read it! And friends, I didn’t want it to end. This was a beautiful novel set in Mexico. It moves throughout a longer period of time but the most significant moments for me were during the Spanish Flu, which felt familiar given what the world has gone through over the last year.
I loved the Morales family – they had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. Simonopio, the infant found in the woods and covered by bees, captivated me. He was born with a cleft palette and never learned to communicate with words, but found his own way to connect with others and became a loved and integral part of his adopted family.
“she understood that, while life offers no guarantees, sometimes it does offer gifts;”
I know I’m a little late to this one, but I’m so happy to have finally read it! And friends, I didn’t want it to end. This was a beautiful novel set in Mexico. It moves throughout a longer period of time but the most significant moments for me were during the Spanish Flu, which felt familiar given what the world has gone through over the last year.
I loved the Morales family – they had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. Simonopio, the infant found in the woods and covered by bees, captivated me. He was born with a cleft palette and never learned to communicate with words, but found his own way to connect with others and became a loved and integral part of his adopted family.
Interestingly, the first part of the book takes place during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. So timely, considering the author could not have seen 2020 coming at the time she wrote it! It goes on to cover the next 20 years in the life of a land-owning family in northern Mexico. I found the characters engaging and enjoyed learning more about that time and place, including the political and economic aspects. This one reminded me a bit of The Hummingbird's Daughter. If you liked that book, you'll probably enjoy this one, too.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Overall I really loved this book. The slow meandering prose is fully a matter of taste - I loved how it jumped ahead only to loop back in a few chapters so we slowly develop a fuller understanding of what's happening. It reminded me of the dance of bees at times.
The one thing I found hard to deal with was the depiction of class and race. I am not from Mexico, so I don't have an instinctive line to the culture in the way many others will have. What I found a shame was that the only non-white characters who were sympathetic were the loyal servants and labourers who found purpose and happiness in serving the blue eyed fair skinned land owners, while the story did what it did to the indigenous main villain. I wish we had seen more nuance in this aspect.
The one thing I found hard to deal with was the depiction of class and race. I am not from Mexico, so I don't have an instinctive line to the culture in the way many others will have. What I found a shame was that the only non-white characters who were sympathetic were the loyal servants and labourers who found purpose and happiness in serving the blue eyed fair skinned land owners, while the story did what it did to the indigenous main villain. I wish we had seen more nuance in this aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racism, Rape, War
emotional
reflective
sad
Reading this made me want to be a kid again, running around outside and livin without a care in the world. It also had me reflecting and thinking about what has been. What I thought would happen with the ending didn't happen exactly as I thought. Sofia Segovia's writing in this book is beautiful.
This book could have been 200 pages shorter. The most interesting part was the last third. The first two thirds just drug on and on. And on.