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A review by librar_bee
Cantoras by Caro De Robertis
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Cantoras is a story of "women who sing" - beginning with two friends, Flaca and Romina, which expands into a group of five women to include Anita "La Venus," Malena, and Paz. These five queer women create a family when they visit Cabo Polonio off the coast of Uruguay, where the current dictatorship threatens their safety and especially their secrets. The ocean and the beach become constants for the five women and the friends and lovers they make over the course of thirty-five years; however, creating spaces and finding community does not erase grief, trauma, or the need for visibility.
De Robertis brings to life each of the women and the characters they meet along their journeys with rich energy and warmth, as though they become your own family over the course of the novel. This story will fill your heart with joy, grief, and laughter as each of these women navigate their lives in the tumultuous 1970s and 1980s. Her writing is lyrical and paints beautiful pictures of the cities, the landscapes, and the humans that inhabit them. Though the third-person perspectives of each of the five women are shared in this story, the narrative flows naturally and clearly, with no ambiguity as to which vignette of the story we are seeing. Cantoras is a must-read for seekers of queer truths. Five women from very different backgrounds come together in Uruguay, which eventually became the third country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage, to love, grow, and ache, and are ready to welcome you when you open this book.
De Robertis brings to life each of the women and the characters they meet along their journeys with rich energy and warmth, as though they become your own family over the course of the novel. This story will fill your heart with joy, grief, and laughter as each of these women navigate their lives in the tumultuous 1970s and 1980s. Her writing is lyrical and paints beautiful pictures of the cities, the landscapes, and the humans that inhabit them. Though the third-person perspectives of each of the five women are shared in this story, the narrative flows naturally and clearly, with no ambiguity as to which vignette of the story we are seeing. Cantoras is a must-read for seekers of queer truths. Five women from very different backgrounds come together in Uruguay, which eventually became the third country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage, to love, grow, and ache, and are ready to welcome you when you open this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Suicide