A review by mmccombs
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I liked this story but was less into its structure. Olga and Prieto are captivating characters in their own right, even more so in relationship with each other. Their mother is an even more interesting character, a kind of looming figure over all of the action that takes place. However, something about the writing didn’t really work for me. It was a lot of reflective, past tense “telling” of each character’s history while the present-day action was taking place, so it felt like I was being absolutely flooded with information. So much happening all at once with not a lot of room to do it! I also found the switches in POV kind of strange, like it seemed to mostly follow Olga but then Prieto and Dick also had some chapters. It would have been more effective for me if we were just following Olga or if we alternated with Prieto in equal parts. I still thought the story was worth reading, but I don’t think it was the most tight, well organized book I’ve ever read.
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