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A review by lory_enterenchanted
My Broken Language: A Memoir by Quiara Alegría Hudes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
This started out strong, with a powerful voice and absorbing stories of the tensions experienced in growing up pulled between languages and cultures. Love for family shines through on every page, with mourning for the tragic losses to AIDS and drugs that too often had to be silenced by shame, and rejoicing in the vivid aliveness of their best times.
Later on, I found something was less satisfying. As a precocious genius who was apparently writing music better than Scriabin without half trying, I had a hard time relating to Quiara. And something seemed to be missing, as though she were withholding important information. I found the four times she experienced possession somewhat concerning. While leaving room for cultural difference, I wonder whether the spirits that take people over in that way could really be benign. This was one of the aspects where I felt something was missing.
Later on, I found something was less satisfying. As a precocious genius who was apparently writing music better than Scriabin without half trying, I had a hard time relating to Quiara. And something seemed to be missing, as though she were withholding important information. I found the four times she experienced possession somewhat concerning. While leaving room for cultural difference, I wonder whether the spirits that take people over in that way could really be benign. This was one of the aspects where I felt something was missing.