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A review by lizzie04
Soledad by Angie Cruz
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Definitely stranger compared to Cruz's later books. I would have to reread to develop my feelings toward this fully but here are my overall impressions:
-This book is very horny, at times unnecessarily or it doesn't come across in the way the author perhaps intended.
-At least half of the characters are unlikeable but not in a deep way that you can still appreciate.
-Flaca and Ciego were my favorites. Flaca's internal dialogue was just funny in how much it represented the POV of a naive teenager. She was a relief from Soledad, who irritated me until she started getting some development in the latter half of the story. I liked Ciego as the wise elderly father figure for everyone.
-I'm tired of Dominican men being so awful oh my GODDDDD. I know our men do not have a good rep, but it would be nice to see a different personality aside from the abusive machistas that prey on little girls. Dominican men are a lot more complex than that, just like anybody, yet I tend to see the same male archetypes across Cruz's books. Victor got on my nerves for this, he was the typical manwhore who still lives off his mother because he fears commitment and has a poor father figure and blah blah blah. Manolo was far more egregious but I do not even want to get into that.
I enjoyed the focus on this singular Dominican family because it still showed all the different dynamics at play. It was messy, dysfunctional, at times funny, and touching. I can tell this is Angie Cruz's first book; the premise/characters could be interesting but are not completely cohesive and intricate like her later books. Soledad and her relationship with her mother Olivia, arguably the center of this story, started lukewarm and turned out to have the most depth out of the rest of the character relationships. This was also the only time I have read of her messing with magical realism and the more superstitious elements of campesino Dominican culture.
"When Soledad cried, I saw her eyes, the color of fresh cinnamon sticks turned a new leaf green like my own. I reminded Soledad that her eyes turn green when she cries because her sadness belongs to me. When I saw the reflection of my face in her eyes, I was sorry for all the sadness I had given her."
-This book is very horny, at times unnecessarily or it doesn't come across in the way the author perhaps intended.
-At least half of the characters are unlikeable but not in a deep way that you can still appreciate.
-Flaca and Ciego were my favorites. Flaca's internal dialogue was just funny in how much it represented the POV of a naive teenager. She was a relief from Soledad, who irritated me until she started getting some development in the latter half of the story. I liked Ciego as the wise elderly father figure for everyone.
-I'm tired of Dominican men being so awful oh my GODDDDD. I know our men do not have a good rep, but it would be nice to see a different personality aside from the abusive machistas that prey on little girls. Dominican men are a lot more complex than that, just like anybody, yet I tend to see the same male archetypes across Cruz's books. Victor got on my nerves for this, he was the typical manwhore who still lives off his mother because he fears commitment and has a poor father figure and blah blah blah. Manolo was far more egregious but I do not even want to get into that.
I enjoyed the focus on this singular Dominican family because it still showed all the different dynamics at play. It was messy, dysfunctional, at times funny, and touching. I can tell this is Angie Cruz's first book; the premise/characters could be interesting but are not completely cohesive and intricate like her later books. Soledad and her relationship with her mother Olivia, arguably the center of this story, started lukewarm and turned out to have the most depth out of the rest of the character relationships. This was also the only time I have read of her messing with magical realism and the more superstitious elements of campesino Dominican culture.
"When Soledad cried, I saw her eyes, the color of fresh cinnamon sticks turned a new leaf green like my own. I reminded Soledad that her eyes turn green when she cries because her sadness belongs to me. When I saw the reflection of my face in her eyes, I was sorry for all the sadness I had given her."