A review by ebonyutley
The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older

4.0

The Book of Lost Saints was delightful. Older writes worlds in a single sentence. His prose in often poetry. The ways he interweaves histories, places, spaces, languages, bodies, and beings together is masterful. As beautiful as the writing is, the book’s themes are sorrow and survival. So much past, present, and future is lost by those who did and didn’t survive the Cuban revolution. So much of the narrative would be despairing were it not for Older and thus one of his main character’s love for music. I couldn’t hear it, but I could feel it creating life where there was death, offering hope when all was lost, illuminating the future when so much of the past was shrouded in darkness. The saints are only lost until we sing them into being because they are always already present to teach us about family, forgiveness, and love. The conclusion was so satisfying in its celebration of the human will. My only critique is the book is so overtly political. It’s not a critique of his position, but since it’s the only presentation, I wanted to talk to other Cubans about how their families remember the revolution. That said, any book that makes me more curious after I finish it was a rewarding book.