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A review by mollyisfullybooked
The Affairs of the Falcóns by Melissa Rivero
3.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
THE AFFAIRS OF THE FALCÓNS is the story of one woman who will do anything to ensure that her family stays together. Ana Falcón, her husband Lucho, and her two children Victoria and Pedro, are undocumented immigrants from Peru. They recently relocated to New York City and live with Lucho’s cousin Valeria, yet Valeria has made it abundantly clear that Ana and her family have overstayed their welcome. To make matters worse, there is tension at Ana’s employment as most women who work there are undocumented, as well as Ana’s short payments to a loan shark called Mama.
This story had many moving pieces to it, adding layers of complexity and uncertainty as the story unfolded. However, I found the characters one sided and without a true personality. The author does have a unique writing style, but it didn’t work for me. Oftentimes, the writing just described moments without really revealing too much of what a character is thinking or feeling. It is definitely a passive way of writing that did not work for me.
However, the dialogue between characters was what redeemed this book: the conversations between Ana and her husband towards the end of the novel made me feel the anxiety and desperation of the Falcóns’ situation. It almost read like a telenovela at times just within the dialogue.
In all, I found the characters dull and the writing unaffected, but it was the realistic dialogue that saved this book for me. I would definitely watch a telenovela of this story or a movie, but overall the book was just underwhelming. However the topic of immigration and those who live in the US undocumented is a story and a perspective that we need more of. I appreciate that the author drew upon her own experiences to write this novel. It is, unfortunately, a timely piece of literature that is just as relevant now as it was twenty years ago.
THE AFFAIRS OF THE FALCÓNS is the story of one woman who will do anything to ensure that her family stays together. Ana Falcón, her husband Lucho, and her two children Victoria and Pedro, are undocumented immigrants from Peru. They recently relocated to New York City and live with Lucho’s cousin Valeria, yet Valeria has made it abundantly clear that Ana and her family have overstayed their welcome. To make matters worse, there is tension at Ana’s employment as most women who work there are undocumented, as well as Ana’s short payments to a loan shark called Mama.
This story had many moving pieces to it, adding layers of complexity and uncertainty as the story unfolded. However, I found the characters one sided and without a true personality. The author does have a unique writing style, but it didn’t work for me. Oftentimes, the writing just described moments without really revealing too much of what a character is thinking or feeling. It is definitely a passive way of writing that did not work for me.
However, the dialogue between characters was what redeemed this book: the conversations between Ana and her husband towards the end of the novel made me feel the anxiety and desperation of the Falcóns’ situation. It almost read like a telenovela at times just within the dialogue.
In all, I found the characters dull and the writing unaffected, but it was the realistic dialogue that saved this book for me. I would definitely watch a telenovela of this story or a movie, but overall the book was just underwhelming. However the topic of immigration and those who live in the US undocumented is a story and a perspective that we need more of. I appreciate that the author drew upon her own experiences to write this novel. It is, unfortunately, a timely piece of literature that is just as relevant now as it was twenty years ago.