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A review by bianca89279
Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
3.0
3-3.5 stars
Everything Here is Beautiful is a good debut novel, exploring mental illness and how it affects both the sufferers and those close to them.
It's wonderful that mental illnesses are no longer taboo. I don't know if it's because we're getting more enlightened or because so many people have mental health issues. I'm guessing it's a mix of the two.
I enjoyed the very multicultural aspects of this novel that added another dimension and layer of complexity to the story. This story is mainly about Lucia and her sister Miranda. Their Chinese mother was pregnant with Lucia when she immigrated to the USA. Miranda was seven years old. The beautiful Lucia was the unlucky one, as she suffered from schizophrenia or bipolar disease or something in between. When not medicated, her behaviour became erratic and uncontrollable - as you'd imagine. Miranda tries to help as much as possible, although she's got her own life to live. Another immigrant's perspective is added when Lucia marries Yonah, a much older Jewish man who seeks a new life in the USA. Manny, Lucia's baby daddy, provides us with insights into an undocumented Ecuadorian young man's life in the US, doing all sort of jobs in construction and kitchens.
I appreciated this novel, but I never fully got into it. I understand why Mira T Lee chose the multiple points of views, but I thought some of them were better executed than others. For instance, sometimes, Manny's perspective wasn't fully believable - he sounded way too eloquent, which was inconsistent with his less educated, culturally different background and upbringing.
Despite not being fully engaged and a few small quibbles, I don't regret spending the time in its company. It was good enough for me to be interested in reading Lee's sophomore novel.
Everything Here is Beautiful is a good debut novel, exploring mental illness and how it affects both the sufferers and those close to them.
It's wonderful that mental illnesses are no longer taboo. I don't know if it's because we're getting more enlightened or because so many people have mental health issues. I'm guessing it's a mix of the two.
I enjoyed the very multicultural aspects of this novel that added another dimension and layer of complexity to the story. This story is mainly about Lucia and her sister Miranda. Their Chinese mother was pregnant with Lucia when she immigrated to the USA. Miranda was seven years old. The beautiful Lucia was the unlucky one, as she suffered from schizophrenia or bipolar disease or something in between. When not medicated, her behaviour became erratic and uncontrollable - as you'd imagine. Miranda tries to help as much as possible, although she's got her own life to live. Another immigrant's perspective is added when Lucia marries Yonah, a much older Jewish man who seeks a new life in the USA. Manny, Lucia's baby daddy, provides us with insights into an undocumented Ecuadorian young man's life in the US, doing all sort of jobs in construction and kitchens.
I appreciated this novel, but I never fully got into it. I understand why Mira T Lee chose the multiple points of views, but I thought some of them were better executed than others. For instance, sometimes, Manny's perspective wasn't fully believable - he sounded way too eloquent, which was inconsistent with his less educated, culturally different background and upbringing.
Despite not being fully engaged and a few small quibbles, I don't regret spending the time in its company. It was good enough for me to be interested in reading Lee's sophomore novel.