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A review by idleutopia_reads
The Affairs of the Falcóns by Melissa Rivero
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.