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A review by thereadingrambler
The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I received this book as an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley.
TLDR: This was a very well-written and well-executed book, but I was not the target audience for this book due to the magical realism elements and the plot presentation style.
The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca is another fantastic addition to Stelliform Press's catalog. DeLuca is a repeat author for Stelliform and is a growing name withing the solarpunk genre. His masterful writing style and deft character development are on full display to a great effect. The only problem with this book: I am not the target audience but this is only because I don't usually enjoy magical realism.
The book is about Felipe/Felix, a jaguar who, through the aid of various masks, can appear as human, and Cristina, a young women whose mother was recently a collatoral fatality in a politically motivated assassination. Felipe/Felix lives with Luz and Anibal, who are both involved in protest movements against the Guatemalan government. Cristina is just trying to make it through her grief and coming to terms with what has happened. She is an artist who is struggling with the tension between needing to make money to care for her nephews (who were foisted upon her by her absent sister) and wanting to paint her visions. The two are brought together because of the murder and because Luz and Anibal's activism, leading them on a journey through Guatemala to write the wrongs in the world and the wrongs they've perpetuated against themselves, all within the backdrop of the exploitative and destructive mining operations that are decimating Guatemala and its indigeneous human and nonhuman populations.
Throughout the whole book, DeLuca asks the reader to just accept certaint things as true, and this is the element of magical realism I don't usually like. If there is going to be some sort of magical or fantastical element. For instance, the mechanics of Felipe/Felix's jaguare shifting is never really discussed. Cristina comments that she doesn't know how he uses the gear shift in his car with his paws; she doesn't hold his hand but specifically comments on holding his paw, although obviously a jaguar would need all four feet to walk--things like that. These kinds of things are very common in magical realism, and magical realism is an excellent choice for this story--the genre emerged out of post-colonial protests, movements, and activism in the broadest defined Latin world so in a book that is explicitly about protest and activist movements agaisnt neo-imperialist powers in Guatemala magical realism is not only the natural but probably the necessary choice. I am not faulting the book; in fact, I am praising the book for this choice. I just personally don't like this genre as a reader.
Note: Please note that I do not star rate books.
TLDR: This was a very well-written and well-executed book, but I was not the target audience for this book due to the magical realism elements and the plot presentation style.
The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca is another fantastic addition to Stelliform Press's catalog. DeLuca is a repeat author for Stelliform and is a growing name withing the solarpunk genre. His masterful writing style and deft character development are on full display to a great effect. The only problem with this book: I am not the target audience but this is only because I don't usually enjoy magical realism.
The book is about Felipe/Felix, a jaguar who, through the aid of various masks, can appear as human, and Cristina, a young women whose mother was recently a collatoral fatality in a politically motivated assassination. Felipe/Felix lives with Luz and Anibal, who are both involved in protest movements against the Guatemalan government. Cristina is just trying to make it through her grief and coming to terms with what has happened. She is an artist who is struggling with the tension between needing to make money to care for her nephews (who were foisted upon her by her absent sister) and wanting to paint her visions. The two are brought together because of the murder and because Luz and Anibal's activism, leading them on a journey through Guatemala to write the wrongs in the world and the wrongs they've perpetuated against themselves, all within the backdrop of the exploitative and destructive mining operations that are decimating Guatemala and its indigeneous human and nonhuman populations.
Throughout the whole book, DeLuca asks the reader to just accept certaint things as true, and this is the element of magical realism I don't usually like. If there is going to be some sort of magical or fantastical element. For instance, the mechanics of Felipe/Felix's jaguare shifting is never really discussed. Cristina comments that she doesn't know how he uses the gear shift in his car with his paws; she doesn't hold his hand but specifically comments on holding his paw, although obviously a jaguar would need all four feet to walk--things like that. These kinds of things are very common in magical realism, and magical realism is an excellent choice for this story--the genre emerged out of post-colonial protests, movements, and activism in the broadest defined Latin world so in a book that is explicitly about protest and activist movements agaisnt neo-imperialist powers in Guatemala magical realism is not only the natural but probably the necessary choice. I am not faulting the book; in fact, I am praising the book for this choice. I just personally don't like this genre as a reader.
Note: Please note that I do not star rate books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and Sexual harassment
Minor: War