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A review by writteninthestarwars
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
When she was younger, all Alejandra wanted was to discover her past. But now, as a mother to three children and a wife to an overbearing husband, she finds herself slipping away and haunted by a ghastly figure in white. A demon by the name of La Llorona, tied to Alejandra in inextricable ways, wants to take everything from her. And if Alejandra doesn't confront her past, present and future, it just might.
On paper, this should have been one of my favourite books. The premise for this story is nothing short of amazing. Alejandra's struggles as a woman, wife, mother and adoptee are painfully relatable. The demon is an excellent metaphor for the 'curse' of womanhood. And, as a Mexican American myself who spent many years longing for a closer connection to my culture, Alejandra's deepest wants really hit home. Unfortunately, the execution didn't hit quite as hard as the premise for me.
I spent much of my time reading this book wishing I could skip over the many many many metaphors, similes, and other overly 'pretty' writing that, in my opinion, often distracted from the story itself. There were moments when I found myself thinking 'please, just get to the point already', and I hate that those moments not only were often, but started early on, too. This is even more unfortunate, because the book has some really profound and beautiful statements that (at least for me) would have hit harder if they weren't surrounded by so many sentences trying to also be profound when they didn't need to be.
The dialogue was another big issue for me. It often felt stilted and one-note, to the point where I could pull out a quote from one character and not necessarily be able to tell you who said it. At points reading the dialogue felt like reading a script for a character that's just kind of ... there. The further I got in the book, the more I connected this to somewhat of a pacing issue with the story as a whole. So much time is spent on overly explaining even Alejandra's smallest emotions that we don't get a lot of space dedicated to the passing of time or to thorough explorations of some important events and relationships.
Despite my issues with aspects of the writing, though, I am very glad I read this book. Like I said, the story is beautiful and heartbreaking and so very relatable even to someone who isn't and never plans to be a mother. At its core, The Haunting of Alejandra is a love letter to mothers, and I hope it's found its way to and comforted as many of them as possible.
On paper, this should have been one of my favourite books. The premise for this story is nothing short of amazing. Alejandra's struggles as a woman, wife, mother and adoptee are painfully relatable. The demon is an excellent metaphor for the 'curse' of womanhood. And, as a Mexican American myself who spent many years longing for a closer connection to my culture, Alejandra's deepest wants really hit home. Unfortunately, the execution didn't hit quite as hard as the premise for me.
I spent much of my time reading this book wishing I could skip over the many many many metaphors, similes, and other overly 'pretty' writing that, in my opinion, often distracted from the story itself. There were moments when I found myself thinking 'please, just get to the point already', and I hate that those moments not only were often, but started early on, too. This is even more unfortunate, because the book has some really profound and beautiful statements that (at least for me) would have hit harder if they weren't surrounded by so many sentences trying to also be profound when they didn't need to be.
The dialogue was another big issue for me. It often felt stilted and one-note, to the point where I could pull out a quote from one character and not necessarily be able to tell you who said it. At points reading the dialogue felt like reading a script for a character that's just kind of ... there. The further I got in the book, the more I connected this to somewhat of a pacing issue with the story as a whole. So much time is spent on overly explaining even Alejandra's smallest emotions that we don't get a lot of space dedicated to the passing of time or to thorough explorations of some important events and relationships.
Despite my issues with aspects of the writing, though, I am very glad I read this book. Like I said, the story is beautiful and heartbreaking and so very relatable even to someone who isn't and never plans to be a mother. At its core, The Haunting of Alejandra is a love letter to mothers, and I hope it's found its way to and comforted as many of them as possible.