Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Storyteller's Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal

8 reviews

cnannery19's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Classism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Terminal illness

awkwardimagination's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Im gonna be honest this is not what I was expecting from this book and I'm slightly disappointed by that. It is a family story, and by that I mean it is the story of this family told through supernatural means. It wa solidly written and by all means a good story, its's just not my kinda a story. Also I know this is supposed to be an adult book, but I was fully convinced it was YA. I think that makes it new adult?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, and Racism

Minor: Bullying

antoniac's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

I wanted to like this more than I did. I really enjoyed the themes of memories and stories being important in families and healing generational trauma, the descriptions of Puerto Rico, and the nuanced almost tender portrayals of family life and the tension it can bring. The magical realism element of the visions was well done and woven nicely in. However the writing style just really didn't do it for me - some of the descriptions felt flat and simple when lyrical language would have just elevated it a little. Also the ending felt a little rushed and too nicely packaged, but maybe that's because I read the 2nd half of the novel in one sitting. Overally definitely worth a read, just not quite 4* worthy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Alcoholism

Moderate: Classism

rhi_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Murder, and Addiction

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Classism, and Racism

Minor: Grief and Bullying

tamara_joy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Grief, Racism, Alcoholism, and Death

Minor: Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia

booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

3.75 stars

This was a moving story about stories. About how a young girl Isla who lost her father at a young age and begins to literally see her families stories play out before her. Cardinal whole heartedly captures the experience of not being American enough to fit in in America , but not being Puerto Rican enough to fit in Puerto Rico. This book also looked at classism, and touched a bit on how tourism impacts the island of Puerto Rico and its citizens. This book was a very good listen. 

Cw
Death
Guns
Alcohol
Emotional abuse
Terminal illness 
Racism
Bullying 
Classism

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Racism, and Alcoholism

catwhisperer's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Bullying, Death, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Classism, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

bookdnbusy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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? No

5.0

this book and this author are INCREDIBLY underrated.

not only is ann dávila cardinal a fantastic writer, but she’d managed to bring nostalgia to me by the way she described the island, the food, the tastes, the sounds, the sights as if i didn’t grow up watching, feeling, and experiencing this myself up until a few years back when i made the tough decision of moving to the states. 

the storyteller’s death tells the story of what happens when family secrets and bias are so deep-rooted into our ancestry that the domino effect that happens as each vital member passes on the grief and guilt, pain and trauma to the younger generation that at some point is as if staring at a tsunami wave growing and growing and growing but never really quite tumbles down until someone down the line decides that enough is enough. 

there are a lot of heavy topics discussed in this book, mainly: racism, colorism, and classism, but it’s done from the point of view of our heroine, isla, over the span of ten years. she’s stuck between two worlds in which she does not feel a part of fully, despite spending part of her time with her mother’s family on the island. isla tells and shows how her family’s secrets and bias affect her, and how her own secret slowly eats away at her until the passing of her great-aunt. as we say back home, “esa fue la gota que colmó la copa” and as a reader, i was so proud to finally watch her blossom and take control and face everyone, including her mother! 

i wanted to keep going, find out the truth myself, but i didn’t want it to end. i wanted more of isla, more of josé, more of maría, more of elena, more storyteller’s visions, and in the end it all comes together and leaves you feeling hopeful for her future, for her continuous learning and growth. 

ann dávila cardinal wrote and told this story phenomenally, i even forgot that the entire book is written in isla’s perspective, even as a child we see a mature thought process from little isla and her search and desire to fit in and belong. ann’s way of comparing a toothless smile with empty spaces, describing the prickling sensation of the sun on your skin after a long beach day, and the filling sensation the starchiness of plantain leaves behind was refreshingly evocative and left me wanting and searching for more of her work. 

do yourself a favor and pick up a copy for you, one for your friend, and one for a stranger, because you all deserve to live in isla’s world for a day or two. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Death

Minor: Murder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Colorism