Scan barcode
A review by literarypaginas
The Affairs of the Falcóns by Melissa Rivero
5.0
I went into this book blind, knowing nothing of its content. What I learned from it are best explained with these 3 words...fear, determination and survival. Rivero did an outstanding job of showing us what an immigrant family endures when they go from Peru to the United States. I think one of the biggest attractions to this book is the feelings of the characters. As you're reading you feel the fear of what may be, how determined Ana (our main protagonist) is for herself and her family and finally doing whatever is necessary to survive. 3 quotes stood out for me which I believe explain what this story offers and the mentality of the character. This situation is familiar which is why I can appreciate what Rivero did with this book and how much is has to offer for those who are unsure.
“Despite the turmoil of the past few months—of the last few years—she reminded herself of her good fortune. She was blessed with healthy children, a job. Her husband was by her side. They were safe. No matter how difficult things were, they were just obstacles; nothing that couldn’t be fixed, rectified. There was no reason to believe that the year to come couldn’t be a good one.”
Ana knows the situation and despite going through so many obstacles, many of which we would never think of doing, she stayed positive. I think this is a learning experience because how many times have we gone through a difficult time and wanted to give up, not realizing how fortunate we are but one little bad episode is enough to put us over the edge and we're don't even experience what Ana and her family has endured.
“Ana had always been wary of sharing good news. She was hesitant to stir up any feelings of envy, especially at work."
I was glad to see this line in the book. You already know that while there may be those who are truly happy for you, there's always those select few that never want to see people succeed or better themselves. We also know that people will use whatever they can against you so it's good to limit what you want others to see or here. Ana was smart and although she had quite a few people against her, she remembered why she did what she did, for her family.
“she prayed for things the saints could not oppose. Calmness, strength, the ability to say only what was needed to be heard.”
Ana displayed all of these traits, calmness in reminding her family that they will not be separated, her strength for doing some unthinkable things, again for her family. The only emotion that I think Ana lacked was anger. There was a point in the story where she really gets upset but it's not really displayed which I expected despite everything they've been through.
The harsh reality is we live in a world where racism is encouraged, trusting people is a do or die situation, people judge you without knowing you. You have to read this story with an open mind and ask yourself, "what would I do?" "what extent will I go?" It's easy to say "oh they can do or this" or "they're not trying" but unless we are in that situation we don't know what we would do and I like that Rivero showed us what Ana would do even if it wasn't right or to her liking. I also liked that Rivero wasn't shy about the realities of how far someone will go to get what they want.
This was a
“Despite the turmoil of the past few months—of the last few years—she reminded herself of her good fortune. She was blessed with healthy children, a job. Her husband was by her side. They were safe. No matter how difficult things were, they were just obstacles; nothing that couldn’t be fixed, rectified. There was no reason to believe that the year to come couldn’t be a good one.”
Ana knows the situation and despite going through so many obstacles, many of which we would never think of doing, she stayed positive. I think this is a learning experience because how many times have we gone through a difficult time and wanted to give up, not realizing how fortunate we are but one little bad episode is enough to put us over the edge and we're don't even experience what Ana and her family has endured.
“Ana had always been wary of sharing good news. She was hesitant to stir up any feelings of envy, especially at work."
I was glad to see this line in the book. You already know that while there may be those who are truly happy for you, there's always those select few that never want to see people succeed or better themselves. We also know that people will use whatever they can against you so it's good to limit what you want others to see or here. Ana was smart and although she had quite a few people against her, she remembered why she did what she did, for her family.
“she prayed for things the saints could not oppose. Calmness, strength, the ability to say only what was needed to be heard.”
Ana displayed all of these traits, calmness in reminding her family that they will not be separated, her strength for doing some unthinkable things, again for her family. The only emotion that I think Ana lacked was anger. There was a point in the story where she really gets upset but it's not really displayed which I expected despite everything they've been through.
The harsh reality is we live in a world where racism is encouraged, trusting people is a do or die situation, people judge you without knowing you. You have to read this story with an open mind and ask yourself, "what would I do?" "what extent will I go?" It's easy to say "oh they can do or this" or "they're not trying" but unless we are in that situation we don't know what we would do and I like that Rivero showed us what Ana would do even if it wasn't right or to her liking. I also liked that Rivero wasn't shy about the realities of how far someone will go to get what they want.
This was a