Review by yvo_about_books - The Curse Of The Flores Women

yvo_about_books 's review for:

The Curse Of The Flores Women by Angélica Lopes

4.5

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Finished reading: June 13th 2024

"Many believed the Flores family was cursed, victims of a hex cast by a gypsy in times past. But for us, living without men around was just life as we knew it."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Amazon Crossing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I'm always interested in translated fiction and getting to know the work of previously unknown (to me) authors. It's not often I get to travel to Brazil while reading, so of course I was very excited to have the opportunity to do so with The Curse Of The Flores Women. My Portuguese isn't exactly up to standard to be able to read a whole novel, and I thought that this upcoming English translation was the perfect opportunity to finally try Angélica Lopes' writing. I have to say that this turned out to be a very satisfying read, and I will be looking forward to explore more of her work in the future.

The Curse Of The Flores Women uses a dual timeline structure, where we switch between 1918-1919 in Bom Retiro and 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. It focuses on the same family generations apart, linked by a curse that might have caused them to be unlucky in love... The men sure don't last long as part of their family, that's for sure. Dual timelines can go both ways for me, as I usually much prefer one over the other. In this case, I did prefer 1918-1919 as it was simply more gripping, but I did like what the 2010 timeline added as it gave us some answers as to what happened after the events in the past timeline.

This story is a mix of historical fiction and a family saga following the Flores women, and it also has a hint of the mystical with the curse. The main focus is on the lives of the women though and the hardships they face in a world where women don't have power. It is also about the lace making, and how this craft is used to gain a voice... This element is probably one of my favorite parts of the story, and I loved how prominent of a role lace making played in the plot. A little warning though: especially the 2010 timeline has a strong feminist voice, which could be a bit overpowering in parts.

As for the characters... It was so much easier to connect to the women in the 1918-1919 timeline than it was to Alice in the present. Her personality was actually quite hard to warm up to, but thankfully the role she played wasn't as big as some of the other characters. I enjoyed following the Flores women in the past though, and especially the younger generation. They all have their flaws of course, but it only made their character development more realistic. Their personal stories are used to portray the struggles women faced back then, and especially poor Eugênia had a hard time.

If you like the sound of a well written and immersive multigenerational story with a twist and are, like me, intrigued by the promise lace making, a Brazilian setting and a curse, I can definitely recommend making the time to read The Curse Of The Flores Women.

Content Warnings