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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Prayers for the Stolen, Jennifer Clement
An important and breathtaking novel about the stolen girls of Mexico. Ladydi is a young girl raised in a desolate mountain village outside of Acapulco. Only women are left on the mountain since the men have all fled to America never to return. The mothers of girls have them pretend to be boys when they are young, and then make them ugly in any way they can to protect them from being stolen and trafficked by the powerful drug dealers that rule the country. Ladydi and her three best friends dirty their teeth and keep their hair short in an effort to avoid notice. They attend the small school house at the bottom of mountain, and try to have as normal lives as possible under very harsh and scary conditions - pesticide that is supposed to be dumped on the poppy fields nearby is dumped on their homes instead and they must hide in secret holes in the ground whenever an SUV is seen coming toward their homes. Even with the attempt to hide them, the beauty of one of the four girls is too great to be kept secret and she is eventually stolen. So much sadness, heartache and longing is encapsulated in this mesmerizing novel. The author's goal was to tell the story of the hideous corruption in Mexican that results in the cheapening and ruination of women's lives, and she does so with great success. Ladydi is a character who's story you won't soon forget.
An important and breathtaking novel about the stolen girls of Mexico. Ladydi is a young girl raised in a desolate mountain village outside of Acapulco. Only women are left on the mountain since the men have all fled to America never to return. The mothers of girls have them pretend to be boys when they are young, and then make them ugly in any way they can to protect them from being stolen and trafficked by the powerful drug dealers that rule the country. Ladydi and her three best friends dirty their teeth and keep their hair short in an effort to avoid notice. They attend the small school house at the bottom of mountain, and try to have as normal lives as possible under very harsh and scary conditions - pesticide that is supposed to be dumped on the poppy fields nearby is dumped on their homes instead and they must hide in secret holes in the ground whenever an SUV is seen coming toward their homes. Even with the attempt to hide them, the beauty of one of the four girls is too great to be kept secret and she is eventually stolen. So much sadness, heartache and longing is encapsulated in this mesmerizing novel. The author's goal was to tell the story of the hideous corruption in Mexican that results in the cheapening and ruination of women's lives, and she does so with great success. Ladydi is a character who's story you won't soon forget.
موقع خواندنش فقط این فکر توی سرم بود که انگار تاریکیها و تلخیهای جهان، نهایتی ندارند.
Stolen women. It sounds like an oxymoron, as if those two words cancel each other out, they should not go together, it should not exist.
Prayers for the Stolen is the story of a girl named Ladydi, born in the mountain village of Guerrero in Mexico, what was once a real community, until it was ruined by the toxic effect of drug traffickers and immigration to the United States.
In this community families pray to give birth to sons, for daughters are cursed with everything that will mark them with the potential to become stolen. From a young age they blacken their faces and teeth, cut their hair short and their mothers clothe them as and tell people they are boys. They dig holes in the ground outside where they live and tell the girls to run and hide when they hear the big SUV's with blackened windows approaching.
And when they hear the army helicopter, they run even faster, for it contains an even more deadly menace.
Maria's brother Mike was the only boy on the mountain and as such indulged and spoiled, though now he is not often around, too busy, he turns up occasionally and his appearance changes noticeably over time. He has contacts and may be able to find Ladydi a job looking after the children of a well off family. Are her fortunes about to change?
I found this book a riveting read right from the first pages. It seems like an incredible story and yet it is clear that there are threads of truth running through the narrative, a terrible insight into the human trafficking trade.
And despite the seriousness and tragic nature of the issues it deals with, it is not without humour and you can't help but empathise with each of the female characters she so skilfully weaves together. We sense that their time together is limited but there are numerous memorable incidents that stay with the reader and endear us to this unique community of lost souls.
My complete review here at Word by Word.
Prayers for the Stolen is the story of a girl named Ladydi, born in the mountain village of Guerrero in Mexico, what was once a real community, until it was ruined by the toxic effect of drug traffickers and immigration to the United States.
"Our angry piece of land was a broken constellation and each little home was ash."
In this community families pray to give birth to sons, for daughters are cursed with everything that will mark them with the potential to become stolen. From a young age they blacken their faces and teeth, cut their hair short and their mothers clothe them as and tell people they are boys. They dig holes in the ground outside where they live and tell the girls to run and hide when they hear the big SUV's with blackened windows approaching.
And when they hear the army helicopter, they run even faster, for it contains an even more deadly menace.
Maria's brother Mike was the only boy on the mountain and as such indulged and spoiled, though now he is not often around, too busy, he turns up occasionally and his appearance changes noticeably over time. He has contacts and may be able to find Ladydi a job looking after the children of a well off family. Are her fortunes about to change?
I found this book a riveting read right from the first pages. It seems like an incredible story and yet it is clear that there are threads of truth running through the narrative, a terrible insight into the human trafficking trade.
And despite the seriousness and tragic nature of the issues it deals with, it is not without humour and you can't help but empathise with each of the female characters she so skilfully weaves together. We sense that their time together is limited but there are numerous memorable incidents that stay with the reader and endear us to this unique community of lost souls.
My complete review here at Word by Word.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Çevirisini Melisa Kesmez yaptığı için almıştım, arkadaşlarımı beklerken okumalık bir şey diye. Farklı bir hayata konuk olmamı sağladı ve bunun için müteşekkirim. Anlatımın sadeliği ve samimiyeti muhteşemdi. Ladydi'nin annesi ise trajediden komedi çıkaran bir karakter aslında, ya da benim kalbim mi yok çünkü çok eğlendim üçüncü kısma kadar üzücü sonra. İyi okumalar tavsiye ederim
I definitely love the premise of the book, but I didn't enjoy the pace. I had a hard time getting into the story, even though it could be a great story. Ladydi lives in a small mountain town in Mexico. This town is full of forgotten women, the men have left to the city or the United States. The little girls are dressed up as boys, with short hair. Oftentimes, their mother draw on black marker on their teeth. Ugly girls are best if you don't have a boy. Why? Pretty girls are kidnapped by the cartels.
Like I said, great premise of a story. But there were too many times where the story moved to quickly, but the next story would take too long to wrap up. Also, it seemed hard to follow the time line, I couldn't tell when flashbacks were flashbacks. I found myself going backwards to see if I remembered the right facts. There was also, no finish to this story. A few characters are final endings, but Ladydi doesn't. And after everything she went through, I wanted her to have something finite to make her life better.
Like I said, great premise of a story. But there were too many times where the story moved to quickly, but the next story would take too long to wrap up. Also, it seemed hard to follow the time line, I couldn't tell when flashbacks were flashbacks. I found myself going backwards to see if I remembered the right facts. There was also, no finish to this story. A few characters are final endings, but Ladydi doesn't. And after everything she went through, I wanted her to have something finite to make her life better.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fond of:
Having gone to Mexico in the past the location of the novel is what first intrigued me, then it was the subject matter. The plot not only focused on the actual taking of a young girl in the village but the aftermath and effect it had on those even years later which I found to be an interesting view.
The last quarter of the book was a twist for me. Despite the cover's flap I was not expecting the bad luck that once again befalls her and thought it was well executed with well developed characters and brings a fulfilling ending to not only Ladydi's story but also her village's.
Not Fond of:
Ladydi falls in love (oh no horrible right?) but I didn't think her little fling added much to the story. He was in and out of the plot so quickly that I soon forgot about him, like one forgets a name after a one night stand.
Partially due to the above but also in comparison to the beginning of Prayers for the Stolen which grabbed me in, but the middle, or the time where she was "employed" as a nanny was a little slow for me.
Final Thoughts:
Prayers for the Stolen was a book I looked forward to going to bed a night knowing it would be on my bedside table. Ladydi, her mother, their hairdresser Ruth and numerous other persons in their small village were brought to life in vivid color for a moving, thoroughly enjoyable story.
Having gone to Mexico in the past the location of the novel is what first intrigued me, then it was the subject matter. The plot not only focused on the actual taking of a young girl in the village but the aftermath and effect it had on those even years later which I found to be an interesting view.
The last quarter of the book was a twist for me. Despite the cover's flap I was not expecting the bad luck that once again befalls her and thought it was well executed with well developed characters and brings a fulfilling ending to not only Ladydi's story but also her village's.
Not Fond of:
Ladydi falls in love (oh no horrible right?) but I didn't think her little fling added much to the story. He was in and out of the plot so quickly that I soon forgot about him, like one forgets a name after a one night stand.
Partially due to the above but also in comparison to the beginning of Prayers for the Stolen which grabbed me in, but the middle, or the time where she was "employed" as a nanny was a little slow for me.
Final Thoughts:
Prayers for the Stolen was a book I looked forward to going to bed a night knowing it would be on my bedside table. Ladydi, her mother, their hairdresser Ruth and numerous other persons in their small village were brought to life in vivid color for a moving, thoroughly enjoyable story.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No