A review by bookishmillennial
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
 disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial 
 
This is a fictional story about Olga, a wedding planner based in New York City in 2017, although there are some letters that are written to both Olga and her brother Prieto from 1994 all the way to almost the present from their mom, who is a Young-Lord-turned-radical who left them about 30 years ago to focus on her activism. 

This story takes place before, during and after a hurricane devastates Puerto Rico, where their parents are from. We are given insight into the characters' experiences and processing of racism, white privilege, elitism, misogyny, capitalism and familial trauma. 

A few things that stood out to me...
  • Loved this part where Olga says that white Americans do indeed have culture and New England is the cradle of it
  • Poor Prieto, he is a congressman and he is struggling with different parts of his own identity in the face of public perception and I have also had moments like this, where something your parents say that you didn't understand when you were younger, there's a moment where it crystallizes and it's a bittersweet part of growing up.
  • This made me laugh, when Prieto's uncle complains about not being invited to a fancy event and says no when Prieto asks him right then. He's like "It's nice to be asked though." This is SO my family and me!!!
  • Authenticity is always something really interesting that comes up when you're evaluating culture and who practices it and how you're performing for others at any given moment
  • I can see why Olga's mom could be the leader of an organization because she is just super persuasive and she writes beautifully. Here, she wrote "You must remember... even people who were once your sails can become your anchors." It was late when I read this but I did tear up at that. The way relationships can evolve and how you grieve for them.
  • Fun fact - my family name is Reyes so did I love that it was Reggie's last name? No because I have mixed feelings about him but yes, it's always fun to see your name recognized. Also, yes, Filipinos have Spanish in them. It's called Spanish colonialism!
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