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taural41's review
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I can see how this book is not for everyone, but it was very much for me. Reflecting on my reading experience, the word that keeps coming back to me is “lovely” - it was a lovely, surprising, and quiet reading experience. Lovely because the writing and cadence, even the frequent peppering of Spanish, flowed so beautifully for me. Even as terrible, brutal things were being told, something about the rhythm and the prose made me experience the beauty of the worlds and stories being laid out for me rather than feeling gutted by the brutalities taking place. I know the lyrical words won’t be enough far every reader, but for me, they made the whole experience truly lovely - there is no other word. Surprising because I was not expecting to love this book, I picked it up as a curiosity, trying to explore my reading tastes. Surprising too because I had thought I valued a fast-moving plot and likable characters, but here there was very little plot to be found, and I found myself caring not at all. At one point, about 2/3rd’s of the way through I realized that I didn’t care what the ending was at all - no matter how it ended it couldn’t ruin in for me because I was so enjoying the ride. As for likable characters, so many characters are so deeply flawed, broken, hurting, or hurting one another. They are not what I would call “likable”, but I loved their stories all the same. Finally, quiet because this wasn’t a loud or busy novel, even as it has so many characters, so many voices, even stories within stories - a kind of atmosphere of quiet and stillness somehow still prevailed for me. Quiet too because something about reading this story helped me to connect with who I am as a reader and the kind of stories that I love, and that experience left my soul feeling deeply satisfied and quieted. A lovely, surprising, and quiet reading experience. My deep gratitude to the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Deportation, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Confinement, Dementia, and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Miscarriage
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoy the concept of this book, and I was excited to read it. However, I did not feel that the book captured my attention for more like 30% of the book. The majority of the book I just felt disinterested and did not know where anything was going.
Getting Filomena, Perla, and Manuel’s POVs were the best parts because I loved finding out their connections to each other and Alma + her sisters. After that, I became disinterested again.
I really enjoy the concept of this book, and I was excited to read it. However, I did not feel that the book captured my attention for more like 30% of the book. The majority of the book I just felt disinterested and did not know where anything was going.
Getting Filomena, Perla, and Manuel’s POVs were the best parts because I loved finding out their connections to each other and Alma + her sisters. After that, I became disinterested again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Confinement, Grief, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Sexual content
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