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A review by johannawithbooks
The Affairs of the Falcons by Melissa Rivero
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
A story of immigration, displacement, and sacrifice to find belonging, love, and home. Ana Falcon is an undocumented Peruvian woman living in NYC in the 1990s with her husband and two children.
This book gives us a complex and emotional story of one undocumented immigrant’s experience that has parts that may mirror so many others. Ana is indebted to loan shark, living in a home she feels unwelcome in, and receiving unwanted attention from a man who could help solve some financial struggles. We get a glimpse into Ana’s life and the decisions she makes trying to survive and create a home for her family. She struggles with Lucho, who wants to return to Peru where he can use his degree and get a better job. But, he does not understand that the same Peru that awaits him with his lighter skin tone, “proper” accent, and family privilege does not accept her. She struggles living in the home of Lucho’s cousin, who has made it clear she doesn’t want her there or trust her. She struggles with decisions that can destroy her marriage, but is convinced could save her family and her vision of her life in NYC.
Each chapter kept unraveling a new secret, a betrayal, a chisme. You may hate each character for a time, root for them at other times. There is a deep look at infidelity, marriage, motherhood, colorism, home, and labor.
The book ends unsettled, and as much as I want to know what happens next, it makes it kind of the perfect ending. So many immigrant stories are untold, individuals lost in headlines and numbers, forgotten.
Lately, I have been frustrated with all of the headlines narrowing the Latinx immigrant communities’ value to labor and the economy. I get it. And, in that let’s not lose sight of the friends, family, mentors and more being violently displaced. Let’s not replace their humanity with monetary loss. We have rich and complex stories.
“This country’s made it so bad that we can’t stay in Peru, but they don’t want us here either”
Format: Audiobook
Libby Loan
This book gives us a complex and emotional story of one undocumented immigrant’s experience that has parts that may mirror so many others. Ana is indebted to loan shark, living in a home she feels unwelcome in, and receiving unwanted attention from a man who could help solve some financial struggles. We get a glimpse into Ana’s life and the decisions she makes trying to survive and create a home for her family. She struggles with Lucho, who wants to return to Peru where he can use his degree and get a better job. But, he does not understand that the same Peru that awaits him with his lighter skin tone, “proper” accent, and family privilege does not accept her. She struggles living in the home of Lucho’s cousin, who has made it clear she doesn’t want her there or trust her. She struggles with decisions that can destroy her marriage, but is convinced could save her family and her vision of her life in NYC.
Each chapter kept unraveling a new secret, a betrayal, a chisme. You may hate each character for a time, root for them at other times. There is a deep look at infidelity, marriage, motherhood, colorism, home, and labor.
The book ends unsettled, and as much as I want to know what happens next, it makes it kind of the perfect ending. So many immigrant stories are untold, individuals lost in headlines and numbers, forgotten.
Lately, I have been frustrated with all of the headlines narrowing the Latinx immigrant communities’ value to labor and the economy. I get it. And, in that let’s not lose sight of the friends, family, mentors and more being violently displaced. Let’s not replace their humanity with monetary loss. We have rich and complex stories.
“This country’s made it so bad that we can’t stay in Peru, but they don’t want us here either”
Format: Audiobook
Libby Loan