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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated
“Esses pequenos gestos que nos fazem lembrar de que devemos sempre buscar a liberdade. Porque mesmo na derrota, há uma vitória. Pois houve luta.”
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Ines, her family, and her friends Eugenia and Vitorina, are lace makers in their small town in 1918. Eugenia, fearful of her upcoming marriage, teaches Ines a code in the lace so they can communicate secretly. In 2010, Alice inherits a veil with a secret message, and she works with her great-aunt to learn the rest of the story.
The plot of this book was really interesting, but I struggled with the writing of the book. The dual timelines were told first person (for Ines) and third person (for Alice), but the narration was also omniscient, so Ines seemed to know what her aunt or her mother or her friends were thinking. The narration changed points of view very rapidly in some places, making it hard to keep up with who was thinking what. The characters were also introduced all at once in the beginning of the novel, and it made it hard to keep track of who was who.
The ending was very poignant, and the whole story is a beautiful depiction of female empowerment.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Finished reading: June 13th 2024
"Many believed the Flores family was cursed, victims of a hex cast by a gypsy in times past. But for us, living without men around was just life as we knew it."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Amazon Crossing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I'm always interested in translated fiction and getting to know the work of previously unknown (to me) authors. It's not often I get to travel to Brazil while reading, so of course I was very excited to have the opportunity to do so with The Curse Of The Flores Women. My Portuguese isn't exactly up to standard to be able to read a whole novel, and I thought that this upcoming English translation was the perfect opportunity to finally try Angélica Lopes' writing. I have to say that this turned out to be a very satisfying read, and I will be looking forward to explore more of her work in the future.
The Curse Of The Flores Women uses a dual timeline structure, where we switch between 1918-1919 in Bom Retiro and 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. It focuses on the same family generations apart, linked by a curse that might have caused them to be unlucky in love... The men sure don't last long as part of their family, that's for sure. Dual timelines can go both ways for me, as I usually much prefer one over the other. In this case, I did prefer 1918-1919 as it was simply more gripping, but I did like what the 2010 timeline added as it gave us some answers as to what happened after the events in the past timeline.
This story is a mix of historical fiction and a family saga following the Flores women, and it also has a hint of the mystical with the curse. The main focus is on the lives of the women though and the hardships they face in a world where women don't have power. It is also about the lace making, and how this craft is used to gain a voice... This element is probably one of my favorite parts of the story, and I loved how prominent of a role lace making played in the plot. A little warning though: especially the 2010 timeline has a strong feminist voice, which could be a bit overpowering in parts.
As for the characters... It was so much easier to connect to the women in the 1918-1919 timeline than it was to Alice in the present. Her personality was actually quite hard to warm up to, but thankfully the role she played wasn't as big as some of the other characters. I enjoyed following the Flores women in the past though, and especially the younger generation. They all have their flaws of course, but it only made their character development more realistic. Their personal stories are used to portray the struggles women faced back then, and especially poor Eugênia had a hard time.
If you like the sound of a well written and immersive multigenerational story with a twist and are, like me, intrigued by the promise lace making, a Brazilian setting and a curse, I can definitely recommend making the time to read The Curse Of The Flores Women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
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:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this.
Okay, this was just a lovely read. I loved the connection between the women and how strong they all were. You know I love reading historical book that show that not all women were docile and accepted their circumstances. The connection between the knitting and sending secret messages between them.
This was just a great read and I want everyone to read it.
I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was just a great read and I want everyone to read it.
I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I thought about DNFing a couple times but ultimately glad I didn’t. Interesting compelling story for sure, but it didn’t quite pack the punch that the description led me to believe it would. It was a quick read which I actually enjoyed, an Amazon First Reads I’ll be swapping for something else