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A review by jcinf
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I keep going back between 4.25 and 4.5.
Dislikes:
The r*pe scene. It was very brief. A couple sentences. But it felt so unnecessary to me. (Page 331. Or at the end of the chapter titled “Control.”
The mom. I won’t give spoilers but God I hate her. There was nothing redeemable about her, and more than half the time I didn’t even want to read her parts she was in lol.
Richard. Perfect allegory for the rich entitled white man. I hate him, too. Though I will say that he was well-written. So I don’t count much against him. But, still, I think we could’ve done without the chapters being written from his perspective. To me it took away from the book as a whole.
Others mentioned the ending being rushed, but I didn’t think so. I was pretty happy with how it ended. Though I enjoyed the book, I didn’t need it to go on forever lol.
The two main characters — Olga and Prieto — definitely require a heavy dose of empathy to be OK with their characters. They’re a mixed bag of good and bad, I’ll say. Which is honestly how authors should be writing their characters anyways. Too “good,” and they won’t have much of a personality. Too “bad,” and most people won’t want to read it. So I thought the author did a good job of this.
I thought the plot was great. The dynamic of family and politics and culture was great. Matteo was great. Overall, a very good read.
Dislikes:
The r*pe scene. It was very brief. A couple sentences. But it felt so unnecessary to me. (Page 331. Or at the end of the chapter titled “Control.”
The mom. I won’t give spoilers but God I hate her. There was nothing redeemable about her, and more than half the time I didn’t even want to read her parts she was in lol.
Richard. Perfect allegory for the rich entitled white man. I hate him, too. Though I will say that he was well-written. So I don’t count much against him. But, still, I think we could’ve done without the chapters being written from his perspective. To me it took away from the book as a whole.
Others mentioned the ending being rushed, but I didn’t think so. I was pretty happy with how it ended. Though I enjoyed the book, I didn’t need it to go on forever lol.
The two main characters — Olga and Prieto — definitely require a heavy dose of empathy to be OK with their characters. They’re a mixed bag of good and bad, I’ll say. Which is honestly how authors should be writing their characters anyways. Too “good,” and they won’t have much of a personality. Too “bad,” and most people won’t want to read it. So I thought the author did a good job of this.
I thought the plot was great. The dynamic of family and politics and culture was great. Matteo was great. Overall, a very good read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape