A review by jayisreading
The Five Wounds: A Novel by Kirstin Valdez Quade

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

I’m not going to lie, I really wasn’t that invested in this book at first. I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of characters that were thrown at me, in addition to this feel that the book started in media res. It probably didn’t help that I found a handful of them irksome. I want to say that I warmed up to them, but the reality is, I didn’t. Some of them just didn’t get the redemption arc we always want to see or something of that nature, but I could tell this was a deliberate choice given how complex Quade’s characters were that she was able to get such conflicted feelings out of me. I wouldn’t quite say The Five Wounds is a string of elaborate character studies, but I have to commend Quade for going so in-depth with each character’s beliefs, moods, personality, etc. I felt this was the case even for the side characters, and, in the end, they were the ones that really brought the story together more than anything else.

I don’t think this book was meant to give a satisfying ending or sense of resolution. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll find this book to be a disappointment. If you’re looking for likeable characters or characters to root for, you’re also not going to really find that here. However, if you want an in-depth exploration of the messiness of humans and their relationships with those around them, The Five Wounds is rich with content on this front.
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