Scan barcode
A review by exercise_read_repeat_ali
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
5.0
4.75 stars
Set in New York City in the months surrounding Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico, this is a story about Olga and her brother, Prieto who both appear to have their lives together. However, things aren’t exactly as they appear. Olga is a successful wedding planner who caters to the 1%ers of New York, but her own love life is a mess. Pedro, is a passionate Congressman who strives to gentrify their Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, but he is also a closeted gay man. On top of this, there are an abundance of family secrets that are rooted in their mother’s abandonment 23 years ago.
This is an incredibly timely and beautifully written character-driven book. It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel, as Gonzalez writes with such strong word choice. There are so many things going on in this book: Puerto Rican pride, racism, sexuality/LGBTQ, female empowerment, exploitation of power, family dynamics, self-discovery, etc. I cannot wait to watch the Hulu series adaptation of this book starring Audrey Plaza! My two *small* criticisms are that the incorporation of the mother’s plot line felt like a bit of stretch at times, and the ending felt a little abrupt…but I am willing to ignore these, as Olga totally won me over.
Set in New York City in the months surrounding Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico, this is a story about Olga and her brother, Prieto who both appear to have their lives together. However, things aren’t exactly as they appear. Olga is a successful wedding planner who caters to the 1%ers of New York, but her own love life is a mess. Pedro, is a passionate Congressman who strives to gentrify their Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, but he is also a closeted gay man. On top of this, there are an abundance of family secrets that are rooted in their mother’s abandonment 23 years ago.
This is an incredibly timely and beautifully written character-driven book. It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel, as Gonzalez writes with such strong word choice. There are so many things going on in this book: Puerto Rican pride, racism, sexuality/LGBTQ, female empowerment, exploitation of power, family dynamics, self-discovery, etc. I cannot wait to watch the Hulu series adaptation of this book starring Audrey Plaza! My two *small* criticisms are that the incorporation of the mother’s plot line felt like a bit of stretch at times, and the ending felt a little abrupt…but I am willing to ignore these, as Olga totally won me over.