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A review by reads2cope
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
3.0
Three stars is maybe generous, but I did enjoy some of the style and settings. However, there were a lot of unnecessary lectures on history and politics, and with how leftist and liberatory those info dumps were, the characters somehow came out praising cops, dismissing the fight for Puerto Rican independence, and propping up the systems they argue against.
Of course, if I was abandoned by my mother as a child for a cause, I can see how that child might grow up to despise the cause. But in that case, it felt like Olga should have either completely ignored the issues or been for some kind of becoming a US State compromise.
With her job, it would have been amazing to see her become a real Robin Hood, using her connections to take from the rich and give to the movement.
Instead, the tidy end of the book implies that revolutionary movements are only accomplished by hard-hearted but charismatic loners and the only way to find happiness is to turn off the news and reap the wealth of your “community” by becoming a landlord.
Of course, if I was abandoned by my mother as a child for a cause, I can see how that child might grow up to despise the cause. But in that case, it felt like Olga should have either completely ignored the issues or been for some kind of becoming a US State compromise.
With her job, it would have been amazing to see her become a real Robin Hood, using her connections to take from the rich and give to the movement.
Instead, the tidy end of the book implies that revolutionary movements are only accomplished by hard-hearted but charismatic loners and the only way to find happiness is to turn off the news and reap the wealth of your “community” by becoming a landlord.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation