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iviarelle's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one heck of a slow burn. There's not a whole lot of action. I don't think the characters get a whole lot of depth. If you prefer to have those things, this may not be a good book for you. But if you have an open mind and an open heart, there is an incredible journey here. I think the best way I could describe this book is a deeply introspective love letter to the power of stories and the power we have to interpret them. If that speaks to you, and you like the sound of an unapologetically queer desert world where poetry is a driving plot point, this book may be the sweet balm to your soul that it is to mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
liteartha's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
oh how i loved this!
we follow xochitl, the young cuentista of a small desert village called empalme. it is her responsibility alone to hear the dark personal stories of her community whenever they might need her, and to return these stories to the deity solís in a ritual that leaves xochitl dazed, exhausted, and without any memory of the stories she has heard.
xo's world is harsh and unforgiving. the climate itself is brutal, water is scarce, there is a threatening foreign presence in empalme, and the burden of being cuentista wears heavily on her shoulders. she yearns to be free, to be seen, and to be accepted. when she begins to discover mysterious poems buried in the sand, she finds a voice that seems to understand her more deeply than she'd hoped possible.
through a life-altering chain of events, xochitl finds herself leaving everything she's ever known to embark on a harrowing journey across the desert with only an unlikely travelling companion and a desire for a better life to guide her.
this novel really shines in the exploration of its own mythology and how multiple truths can be held at once without there needing to be a determined right or wrong. i also loved the natural and unchallenged queerness of its world, frank depictions of menstruation and bodily functions, and the way that spanish was woven so seamlessly in with english, translated only sparsely and trusting the reader to understand.
the parallels to rivers solomon's the deep (a recent favourite of mine) were impossible to ignore, but in no way took away from this novel's own strength. both reflect on storytelling, connection, identity, and the weight of bearing a heavy burden alone, and both do so in their own beautifully compelling way. i also can't help but find it fitting that stories that centre storytelling would evoke thoughts of each other in reading. what better way to emphasise how universal and vital the practice is?
thank you to tor teen and netgalley for providing this e-arc
we follow xochitl, the young cuentista of a small desert village called empalme. it is her responsibility alone to hear the dark personal stories of her community whenever they might need her, and to return these stories to the deity solís in a ritual that leaves xochitl dazed, exhausted, and without any memory of the stories she has heard.
xo's world is harsh and unforgiving. the climate itself is brutal, water is scarce, there is a threatening foreign presence in empalme, and the burden of being cuentista wears heavily on her shoulders. she yearns to be free, to be seen, and to be accepted. when she begins to discover mysterious poems buried in the sand, she finds a voice that seems to understand her more deeply than she'd hoped possible.
through a life-altering chain of events, xochitl finds herself leaving everything she's ever known to embark on a harrowing journey across the desert with only an unlikely travelling companion and a desire for a better life to guide her.
this novel really shines in the exploration of its own mythology and how multiple truths can be held at once without there needing to be a determined right or wrong. i also loved the natural and unchallenged queerness of its world, frank depictions of menstruation and bodily functions, and the way that spanish was woven so seamlessly in with english, translated only sparsely and trusting the reader to understand.
the parallels to rivers solomon's the deep (a recent favourite of mine) were impossible to ignore, but in no way took away from this novel's own strength. both reflect on storytelling, connection, identity, and the weight of bearing a heavy burden alone, and both do so in their own beautifully compelling way. i also can't help but find it fitting that stories that centre storytelling would evoke thoughts of each other in reading. what better way to emphasise how universal and vital the practice is?
thank you to tor teen and netgalley for providing this e-arc
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Animal death, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcoholism
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