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anseora 's review for:
A Spy in the Struggle
by Aya de León
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read genre literature to decompress, but it often works the other way round because many such books disappoint politically, and the style is insufferable. That's absolutely not the case!
I enjoyed the literary work a lot; so many clever editing decisions. Tapping into the MFC's memories was always timely and smooth, with a sort of distinct language and mood for each timeline. They supported and explained the character development very well and added complexity, especially towards the end. I also enjoyed the 'cutting' in general, using catchphrases or themes to stitch episodes; two parallel dialogues running in opposite directions -- remarkable and captivating.
I did find some of the parts a bit sloppy, though. I agree with the commenters who pointed out that the teens are interchangeable, for instance, or that many things are left unexplained (like the things the author was deliberately building suspense about). Some inner conflict bits were a bit too on the nose for me, while I also think that their resolution could have been much more powerful. At the same time, once you get the backstory, the cliched things start making sense.
Much of the political agenda was sort of comforting to me (bc I was reading for the plot, not for revelations), but I also learnt more about African American communities and their types. Not sure how familiar all of that is to the non-Black US audience, but some things were definitely new to me. I was impressed by the ''who raised you like that" and "not everyone grew up with this knowledge" rants, and I think many leftists tend to overlook this, even if they believe in the material conditions Marxist staff, and it's a problem in many POC communities, especially nationals vs. diaspora.
So, all in all, I gave it 4 stars, I think it was a really good find for my 'crime+romance+POC' search, and I will probably look into the author's more recent books!
I enjoyed the literary work a lot; so many clever editing decisions. Tapping into the MFC's memories was always timely and smooth, with a sort of distinct language and mood for each timeline. They supported and explained the character development very well and added complexity, especially towards the end. I also enjoyed the 'cutting' in general, using catchphrases or themes to stitch episodes; two parallel dialogues running in opposite directions -- remarkable and captivating.
I did find some of the parts a bit sloppy, though. I agree with the commenters who pointed out that the teens are interchangeable, for instance, or that many things are left unexplained (like the things the author was deliberately building suspense about). Some inner conflict bits were a bit too on the nose for me, while I also think that their resolution could have been much more powerful. At the same time, once you get the backstory, the cliched things start making sense.
Much of the political agenda was sort of comforting to me (bc I was reading for the plot, not for revelations), but I also learnt more about African American communities and their types. Not sure how familiar all of that is to the non-Black US audience, but some things were definitely new to me. I was impressed by the ''who raised you like that" and "not everyone grew up with this knowledge" rants, and I think many leftists tend to overlook this, even if they believe in the material conditions Marxist staff, and it's a problem in many POC communities, especially nationals vs. diaspora.
So, all in all, I gave it 4 stars, I think it was a really good find for my 'crime+romance+POC' search, and I will probably look into the author's more recent books!