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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gun violence
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
What an odd, impassioned book so full of complicated, lovingly rendered characters. Not what I expected from the jacket at all but I loved it anyways.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5 stars.
There are two main things working against this book for the average reader: 1. we lean pretty hard into the Spanglish and slang specific to the Mexico/Texas border and 2. the story in general starts kinda slow and takes a minute to pick up steam once we understand where we're going. Life is short and humans write a lot of books so I've always been of the opinion that if something doesn't grab you quickly enough you're fully justified in moving on to something else, but for what it's worth, it gets A LOT better the more you get into it - I was really moved to tears or near tears like three times.
There are two things that you should probably know before going into this one: the portion of the story told in the 1950s for the first half of the book has an almost magical/fairy tale quality to it. Fuentes in general writes this book with a certain air of mystery and wonder to it with several scenes feeling almost like a full on ghost story or morality tale. But that's not what this story is: this is an incredibly grounded story featuring characters that were instantly recognizable to one (such as myself) who actually grew up in the region during that time. The other thing to know is that this story is MOSTLY set in the 90s. There are scenes set in the 50s and 60s, but this is not a co-equal partnership of stories. The scenes set in the more distant past are there to provide context for the present and they do that job well, allowing the characters set in the past feel as important as the characters in the "present."
And really that's largely what the book is about: generational trauma, the corrosive nature of societal expectations both past and present, and the effects the lies we tell and the secrets we keep have on ourselves and others. All of those words sound so much more dramatic than the bare facts of the events of the novel and that's part of its brilliance. The stakes are small and personal - these horrible things that have happened, lies and secrets kept, traumas inflicted aren't going to change the world or even the town forever. They're not going to rip apart the family. But they're going to change the way we see it, the way we move forward, the way we experience life and who we choose to be. It's not earth-shattering, but it's real.
There's a lot of 90s frontera (Mexico/US border) pop culture in the book and a gay cousin in the book as well. Each of them support the main theme of trying to live up to societal expectations or refusing to live up to them while being oneself. Personally, I'm more of a "gay people don't need to serve a straight character's storyline" to exist kinda guy, but the fact that the window dressing (frontera pop culture) and the C story line (our gay cousin) both support the main themes of the story speak to how well put together the novel is and how tightly it comes together.
Ultimately, I think that some people who didn't like this one might have been expecting a bigger climax, confrontation, or change of status quo. But that's not what this story is. The story is about continuing. Life goes on, there aren't always quick and easy resolutions, and sometimes the best we can hope for is to make our peace and pray that the next generation will be better than us.
There are two main things working against this book for the average reader: 1. we lean pretty hard into the Spanglish and slang specific to the Mexico/Texas border and 2. the story in general starts kinda slow and takes a minute to pick up steam once we understand where we're going. Life is short and humans write a lot of books so I've always been of the opinion that if something doesn't grab you quickly enough you're fully justified in moving on to something else, but for what it's worth, it gets A LOT better the more you get into it - I was really moved to tears or near tears like three times.
There are two things that you should probably know before going into this one: the portion of the story told in the 1950s for the first half of the book has an almost magical/fairy tale quality to it. Fuentes in general writes this book with a certain air of mystery and wonder to it with several scenes feeling almost like a full on ghost story or morality tale. But that's not what this story is: this is an incredibly grounded story featuring characters that were instantly recognizable to one (such as myself) who actually grew up in the region during that time. The other thing to know is that this story is MOSTLY set in the 90s. There are scenes set in the 50s and 60s, but this is not a co-equal partnership of stories. The scenes set in the more distant past are there to provide context for the present and they do that job well, allowing the characters set in the past feel as important as the characters in the "present."
And really that's largely what the book is about: generational trauma, the corrosive nature of societal expectations both past and present, and the effects the lies we tell and the secrets we keep have on ourselves and others. All of those words sound so much more dramatic than the bare facts of the events of the novel and that's part of its brilliance. The stakes are small and personal - these horrible things that have happened, lies and secrets kept, traumas inflicted aren't going to change the world or even the town forever. They're not going to rip apart the family. But they're going to change the way we see it, the way we move forward, the way we experience life and who we choose to be. It's not earth-shattering, but it's real.
There's a lot of 90s frontera (Mexico/US border) pop culture in the book and a gay cousin in the book as well. Each of them support the main theme of trying to live up to societal expectations or refusing to live up to them while being oneself. Personally, I'm more of a "gay people don't need to serve a straight character's storyline" to exist kinda guy, but the fact that the window dressing (frontera pop culture) and the C story line (our gay cousin) both support the main themes of the story speak to how well put together the novel is and how tightly it comes together.
Ultimately, I think that some people who didn't like this one might have been expecting a bigger climax, confrontation, or change of status quo. But that's not what this story is. The story is about continuing. Life goes on, there aren't always quick and easy resolutions, and sometimes the best we can hope for is to make our peace and pray that the next generation will be better than us.
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
I loved this book full of strong women who sometimes get labeled as bad women (malas). I loved the weaving together of stories from multiple generations, I loved the main characters, and I loved the story. Really great read.
3.5
it was really working for me until it wasn't. the ending left more to be desired.
it was really working for me until it wasn't. the ending left more to be desired.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
sad