lilanye 's review for:

It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo

2.25

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Set in Caracas, the book follows Adelaida who has just buried her mother. She is trying to survive in a country that has been struggling for a long time. Each passing day, there are less and less humane options for survival. Sprinkled with flashbacks to Adelaida’s youth, the story takes the reader along with Adelaida as she tries to make her way.

I procrastinated on this review because I didn’t like the book. I could appreciate some of the story; the flashbacks and the current situation mixed together created an intriguing juxtaposition. The bleakness of living in Caracas and the heart-wrenching knowledge that nothing is sacred are the strongest elements in the book. 

The prose is a little overwrought at times. But most importantly, the narrator is really fatphobic, classist and flat-out racist, and none of these views are disputed anywhere else in the book. I was also a little confused by the political messaging of the book, but also I’m not sure I know enough to have a proper opinion on it. Let’s just say that it perplexed me.

I just didn’t enjoy the book.