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kld2128's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion and Deportation
tinyviolet's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gjniev's review
3.0
I will begin by saying that Rivero is a talented author. Her prose is moving and she is crafted in weaving dialogue and memory into a story. However, there were moments where the plot read like a bad telenovela. The ending of this novel was particularly jarring after going through few ups and several downs with Ana and the Falcons. I will admit that the drama of the plot kept me hooked but some of the story read as unbelievable (ie, the interaction with the cops and the passage mentioning a pristine clean subway car - in what universe, asks this New Yorker.)
I would recommend this book as a start into issues regarding women and migration, especially with regard to Peru. I did learn about Peruvian culture and cuisine from this novel, which is always welcome and appreciated.
I would recommend this book as a start into issues regarding women and migration, especially with regard to Peru. I did learn about Peruvian culture and cuisine from this novel, which is always welcome and appreciated.
cjeanne99's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Story line reminded me of a soap opera - with the women struggling to make ends meet and arguing amongst themselves. I never felt engaged with Ana or the other women. The dialogue and plot was very flat.
getlitwithamy's review
3.0
I’ve been reading books that centre on race, culture and immigration as part of a goal I set myself in 2019. I have wanted to read this for ages but sadly, there was just something missing for me. I enjoyed Ana’s story but I felt like it started out well and then for me, got boring.
idleutopia_reads's review
5.0
My father asked me what was wrong. We had been driving to run an errand and I was deeply engrossed in the thoughts swirling through my head. It was jarring to come back to the car, and to a dreary and snowy Chicago, when my mind had been miles away. You see, my face has never been great at hiding my emotions. In that moment, when my father happened to glance at me, what he saw was rage. I felt so angry, and I would grow increasingly more so, because of the odyssey that Ana in the Affairs of the Falcons was going through.
You could simply say that the Affair of the Falcons is the story of a Peruvian woman, her struggles to survive while chasing the American Dream, to escape the chains that patriarchy has bound her with since birth and to simply breathe above water. We are constantly hit with a tide of stories very similar to Ana’s but what made this story so unique was how the experience was opened to us, or at least to me. I was able to uncover every one of Ana’s thoughts and this left her vulnerable to my judgement. A judgment that surprised me at first because it was harsh. Nevertheless I continued with the story and I will tell you that Ana isn’t perfect but she is a survivor. The thing that made me full of rage was that everywhere Ana turned she was trapped, and whenever she did whatever it took to get a little bit of breathing room, she was judged.
I loved how realistic this novel was. I love that it exists for people to try to get a glimpse of the immigrant experience. In a way, my experience with this book reminded me of One Day in the Life of Ivan Desinovich. I remember finishing that novel and realizing that the title had told me that this whole depicted solely one day in the life of Ivan. I remember feeling shocked and baffled at how someone could withstand so much. I felt the same with Ana, the woman could just not catch a break. Yet, despite the ending, Ana is full of hope and it is this hope that strives her to move forward. This book is chockfull of themes dealing with colorism, racism, sexual abuse, power abuse, and just honestly the abuse you receive simply for being a woman. A punching bag for the world to judge and punish. I would like to thank this book for letting me secondhandedly experience a world I have only known through whispers. It made me feel more connected to my parents, in a way that I’ve strived to all of my life. Having a conversation with my father about my rage opened a door to a vulnerability we both shared on that car ride. Now, I’m simply gathering the courage to have a similar one with my mother. I’m not sure I’m ready to open that one yet but I thank this novel for the stepping stone in getting closer to that door.
Read this book! Do so and immerse yourself in this experience. I highly recommend this book. It will make you cry, it will make you mad and it will make you feel a miasma of emotions. It will definitely change you and after all, isn’t that what we look for in a book. Coming out of the other side a different person because of the shoes we were allowed to walk in.
You could simply say that the Affair of the Falcons is the story of a Peruvian woman, her struggles to survive while chasing the American Dream, to escape the chains that patriarchy has bound her with since birth and to simply breathe above water. We are constantly hit with a tide of stories very similar to Ana’s but what made this story so unique was how the experience was opened to us, or at least to me. I was able to uncover every one of Ana’s thoughts and this left her vulnerable to my judgement. A judgment that surprised me at first because it was harsh. Nevertheless I continued with the story and I will tell you that Ana isn’t perfect but she is a survivor. The thing that made me full of rage was that everywhere Ana turned she was trapped, and whenever she did whatever it took to get a little bit of breathing room, she was judged.
I loved how realistic this novel was. I love that it exists for people to try to get a glimpse of the immigrant experience. In a way, my experience with this book reminded me of One Day in the Life of Ivan Desinovich. I remember finishing that novel and realizing that the title had told me that this whole depicted solely one day in the life of Ivan. I remember feeling shocked and baffled at how someone could withstand so much. I felt the same with Ana, the woman could just not catch a break. Yet, despite the ending, Ana is full of hope and it is this hope that strives her to move forward. This book is chockfull of themes dealing with colorism, racism, sexual abuse, power abuse, and just honestly the abuse you receive simply for being a woman. A punching bag for the world to judge and punish. I would like to thank this book for letting me secondhandedly experience a world I have only known through whispers. It made me feel more connected to my parents, in a way that I’ve strived to all of my life. Having a conversation with my father about my rage opened a door to a vulnerability we both shared on that car ride. Now, I’m simply gathering the courage to have a similar one with my mother. I’m not sure I’m ready to open that one yet but I thank this novel for the stepping stone in getting closer to that door.
Read this book! Do so and immerse yourself in this experience. I highly recommend this book. It will make you cry, it will make you mad and it will make you feel a miasma of emotions. It will definitely change you and after all, isn’t that what we look for in a book. Coming out of the other side a different person because of the shoes we were allowed to walk in.
litpages3's review
5.0
I went into this book blind, knowing nothing of its content. What I learned from it are best explained with these 3 words...fear, determination and survival. Rivero did an outstanding job of showing us what an immigrant family endures when they go from Peru to the United States. I think one of the biggest attractions to this book is the feelings of the characters. As you're reading you feel the fear of what may be, how determined Ana (our main protagonist) is for herself and her family and finally doing whatever is necessary to survive. 3 quotes stood out for me which I believe explain what this story offers and the mentality of the character. This situation is familiar which is why I can appreciate what Rivero did with this book and how much is has to offer for those who are unsure.
“Despite the turmoil of the past few months—of the last few years—she reminded herself of her good fortune. She was blessed with healthy children, a job. Her husband was by her side. They were safe. No matter how difficult things were, they were just obstacles; nothing that couldn’t be fixed, rectified. There was no reason to believe that the year to come couldn’t be a good one.”
Ana knows the situation and despite going through so many obstacles, many of which we would never think of doing, she stayed positive. I think this is a learning experience because how many times have we gone through a difficult time and wanted to give up, not realizing how fortunate we are but one little bad episode is enough to put us over the edge and we're don't even experience what Ana and her family has endured.
“Ana had always been wary of sharing good news. She was hesitant to stir up any feelings of envy, especially at work."
I was glad to see this line in the book. You already know that while there may be those who are truly happy for you, there's always those select few that never want to see people succeed or better themselves. We also know that people will use whatever they can against you so it's good to limit what you want others to see or here. Ana was smart and although she had quite a few people against her, she remembered why she did what she did, for her family.
“she prayed for things the saints could not oppose. Calmness, strength, the ability to say only what was needed to be heard.”
Ana displayed all of these traits, calmness in reminding her family that they will not be separated, her strength for doing some unthinkable things, again for her family. The only emotion that I think Ana lacked was anger. There was a point in the story where she really gets upset but it's not really displayed which I expected despite everything they've been through.
The harsh reality is we live in a world where racism is encouraged, trusting people is a do or die situation, people judge you without knowing you. You have to read this story with an open mind and ask yourself, "what would I do?" "what extent will I go?" It's easy to say "oh they can do or this" or "they're not trying" but unless we are in that situation we don't know what we would do and I like that Rivero showed us what Ana would do even if it wasn't right or to her liking. I also liked that Rivero wasn't shy about the realities of how far someone will go to get what they want.
This was a
“Despite the turmoil of the past few months—of the last few years—she reminded herself of her good fortune. She was blessed with healthy children, a job. Her husband was by her side. They were safe. No matter how difficult things were, they were just obstacles; nothing that couldn’t be fixed, rectified. There was no reason to believe that the year to come couldn’t be a good one.”
Ana knows the situation and despite going through so many obstacles, many of which we would never think of doing, she stayed positive. I think this is a learning experience because how many times have we gone through a difficult time and wanted to give up, not realizing how fortunate we are but one little bad episode is enough to put us over the edge and we're don't even experience what Ana and her family has endured.
“Ana had always been wary of sharing good news. She was hesitant to stir up any feelings of envy, especially at work."
I was glad to see this line in the book. You already know that while there may be those who are truly happy for you, there's always those select few that never want to see people succeed or better themselves. We also know that people will use whatever they can against you so it's good to limit what you want others to see or here. Ana was smart and although she had quite a few people against her, she remembered why she did what she did, for her family.
“she prayed for things the saints could not oppose. Calmness, strength, the ability to say only what was needed to be heard.”
Ana displayed all of these traits, calmness in reminding her family that they will not be separated, her strength for doing some unthinkable things, again for her family. The only emotion that I think Ana lacked was anger. There was a point in the story where she really gets upset but it's not really displayed which I expected despite everything they've been through.
The harsh reality is we live in a world where racism is encouraged, trusting people is a do or die situation, people judge you without knowing you. You have to read this story with an open mind and ask yourself, "what would I do?" "what extent will I go?" It's easy to say "oh they can do or this" or "they're not trying" but unless we are in that situation we don't know what we would do and I like that Rivero showed us what Ana would do even if it wasn't right or to her liking. I also liked that Rivero wasn't shy about the realities of how far someone will go to get what they want.
This was a
megansoetaert's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katielz's review
5.0
The opening line of this book is “Ana Lucía Cárdenas Ríos celebrated her twelfth birthday on the day she killed her first chicken” and from right there I was hooked. Though, as somewhat humorous as that first line may sound (especially out of context), this novel is far from a joke. It is a real, honest, powerful look at immigration and immigrant families living in today’s world.
Written in such a way that it feels as though you were listening to someone’s internal, unspoken casual narration (aside from it being in third person), Ana’s story unfolds in ways that make your heart burn and ache and shatter. It makes you feel as though you are right there with her, as though she is a very real person who you yourself know. And she is. Ana is a neighbour, a classmate, someone you once passed on the street. Her story is not entirely fictional as there are countless human beings who deal with the struggles, the stress, and the terror of immigration every single day. Her family’s story is real, her story is real.
This book is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. From the first few pages, I knew that Ana and her story were going to absolutely envelope and break me. And it did just that through incredible insight and powerful words. This story is important and I highly recommend picking it up, absolutely giving it a 5 star rating without a second thought.
(A bonus, which is absolutely not as important as the content of the novel in itself, was that every new chapter started on the right side, I really appreciated that)
Written in such a way that it feels as though you were listening to someone’s internal, unspoken casual narration (aside from it being in third person), Ana’s story unfolds in ways that make your heart burn and ache and shatter. It makes you feel as though you are right there with her, as though she is a very real person who you yourself know. And she is. Ana is a neighbour, a classmate, someone you once passed on the street. Her story is not entirely fictional as there are countless human beings who deal with the struggles, the stress, and the terror of immigration every single day. Her family’s story is real, her story is real.
This book is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. From the first few pages, I knew that Ana and her story were going to absolutely envelope and break me. And it did just that through incredible insight and powerful words. This story is important and I highly recommend picking it up, absolutely giving it a 5 star rating without a second thought.
(A bonus, which is absolutely not as important as the content of the novel in itself, was that every new chapter started on the right side, I really appreciated that)