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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Re-read for book club; totally worth the return trip!
I'm glad I stuck with it; the first 50 pages were tough -- frailty, impending death, sorrow, regrets -- hard to justify reading such heavy subject matter six months into a global pandemic/quarantine on top of national unrest. But, it was worth the effort. It was difficult to keep the characters/generations straight but Little Angel's hand-drawn family tree helped!
Devastating and beautiful. Languorous and intense. This novel told lifetimes of stories over the course of just two days, through memories and the power of a sprinkling of magical realism. A multitude of characters, each with a variety of names and nicknames but hugely distinctive personalities made for an epic that will not quickly be forgotten. The protagonist's experience of facing his own very imminent death was a powerful reminder to be aware in our own lives, and the structure of this large Mexican-American extended family was something to behold. Urrea has the skill to create emotionally evocative novels, and this one was amazing.
(RH 2019 Challenge: An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America)
(RH 2019 Challenge: An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America)
Loved this book and can't wait to read more by Urrea! This multi-generational family's story had so many similarities to family stories that I could relate to, every time I picked up this book I felt like i was visiting family.
Sprawling family dramas aren’t usually my jam, but Urrea envelops with such lush details. Such vulnerable characters; everyone with something to prove. This is a Mexican-American immigrant story, but at the core, it’s about familial connection and unconditional love. It’s easy to see that Big Angel is based on Urrea’s own brother. Thoughtful, and at times funny, this novel has the aura of a true story.
A family epic centers on the matriarch's funeral. A large Latino family gathers in traditional Mexican style to lay a woman to rest that not everyone liked. In the course of coming together from near and far, many issues emerge that give tremendous insight as to what it may be like for many Mexican families living in the USA today. Some scenarios include:
gay family members
husbands sleeping around
smart men taking menial jobs
working multiple low-paying jobs
pride, i.e., going hungry rather than accepting government assistance
pride, i.e, gaining citizenship
gangs
tattoos
sexuality
deportation
families where half the kids are legal and half are not
crossing the border illegally
old ways (beating children) and new ways (going to college)
This feels like an intimate look into someone else's house. Different ways, different values, etc. are on display. Found it very helpful in relating to lives that are understandably kept under the radar due to immigration concerns. Families are largely the same as they work through concerns about aging, health, kids, parents, and work but how people tackle these issues can be quite different.
gay family members
husbands sleeping around
smart men taking menial jobs
working multiple low-paying jobs
pride, i.e., going hungry rather than accepting government assistance
pride, i.e, gaining citizenship
gangs
tattoos
sexuality
deportation
families where half the kids are legal and half are not
crossing the border illegally
old ways (beating children) and new ways (going to college)
This feels like an intimate look into someone else's house. Different ways, different values, etc. are on display. Found it very helpful in relating to lives that are understandably kept under the radar due to immigration concerns. Families are largely the same as they work through concerns about aging, health, kids, parents, and work but how people tackle these issues can be quite different.
My most memorable birthday party was my 20th, for a multitude of reasons I won’t get into here, but since then I’ve been mostly low-key about birthdays. Aging has made me mellow, and instead of celebrating birthdays, I ease into them with quietness. For Big Angel’s 70th birthday, ostensibly his last one, he wants one last party, one last celebration—and to him, I can relate. When you know there will be no more reasons to celebrate, you want your last party to be a big one, a memorable one, not just for yourself, but for everyone you love. This is the setting of Urrea’s novel: it is a novel about a party, but more a novel about celebrating the ones we love, about relishing in their presence, and about knowing that our bonds extend well beyond life and death. It is one of the best novels I have read in a long time; it is a novel that makes me want to party.