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navigatingthroughthepages 's review for:
My Train Leaves at Three
by Natalie Guerrero
medium-paced
As a Hispanic woman myself, Xiomara's story resonated with me in a lot of ways.
Xiomara not only pulled me into her grief, she was also pulling me along with her to experience her struggles, her impulsive decisions and her small joys. She is still reeling from her sister's death from a year ago when we meet her. She is working two dead end jobs to make ends meet while her mother grieves the death of her youngest daughter and secretly praying for a reverse UNO card to come and take Xiomara instead of Nena. Her mother grieves by blasting prayers on television or radio broadcast, praying like it's her job (though she refuses to actually work and help pay for bills and rent) and wields religion like it will fix all of their problems without helping herself in the process.
Xiomara dreams of being a Broadway star one day and her mother demands she go back to school instead and study towards a "real" job. One day while Xiomara is working at Ellen's Diner Manny Santos enters the chat. Santos is supposed to be her savior, offers her a deal she can't refuse and Xiomara takes his hand and walks towards a mirage of a dream she can never quite reach.
A lot her decisions made me feel uncomfortable, but I could not fault her thought process. She was trying to survive, stay above water while trying to keep a roof over her mother's head. That's real life for a lot of people, not just women. The author truly grasped the concept of zombie walking through life while still recovering from loss. The weight of grief constantly smothering Xiomara, pulling her down and hoping she will give up, but she fought tooth and nail and pulled through. Maybe not in the best of ways, but in the only ways she felt were available to her. When someone is struggling like Xiomara was struggling, it could be impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She was listening to the noise and chatter and could not focus on what was good and the best for her even when it was staring her in the face.
While I appreciate the ending the author gave Xiomara, I didn't feel it fit with the rest of the story I had just read. I'd say about 90% of the story felt realistic, up until that ending. It was wrapped up in a pretty bow and didn't quite fit. The book isn't very long, but the ending felt rushed and pulled me out of the storyline. The writing was beautiful as sad as the story being told was. I just would have liked a bit more of something.
Xiomara not only pulled me into her grief, she was also pulling me along with her to experience her struggles, her impulsive decisions and her small joys. She is still reeling from her sister's death from a year ago when we meet her. She is working two dead end jobs to make ends meet while her mother grieves the death of her youngest daughter and secretly praying for a reverse UNO card to come and take Xiomara instead of Nena. Her mother grieves by blasting prayers on television or radio broadcast, praying like it's her job (though she refuses to actually work and help pay for bills and rent) and wields religion like it will fix all of their problems without helping herself in the process.
Xiomara dreams of being a Broadway star one day and her mother demands she go back to school instead and study towards a "real" job. One day while Xiomara is working at Ellen's Diner Manny Santos enters the chat. Santos is supposed to be her savior, offers her a deal she can't refuse and Xiomara takes his hand and walks towards a mirage of a dream she can never quite reach.
A lot her decisions made me feel uncomfortable, but I could not fault her thought process. She was trying to survive, stay above water while trying to keep a roof over her mother's head. That's real life for a lot of people, not just women. The author truly grasped the concept of zombie walking through life while still recovering from loss. The weight of grief constantly smothering Xiomara, pulling her down and hoping she will give up, but she fought tooth and nail and pulled through. Maybe not in the best of ways, but in the only ways she felt were available to her. When someone is struggling like Xiomara was struggling, it could be impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She was listening to the noise and chatter and could not focus on what was good and the best for her even when it was staring her in the face.
While I appreciate the ending the author gave Xiomara, I didn't feel it fit with the rest of the story I had just read. I'd say about 90% of the story felt realistic, up until that ending. It was wrapped up in a pretty bow and didn't quite fit. The book isn't very long, but the ending felt rushed and pulled me out of the storyline. The writing was beautiful as sad as the story being told was. I just would have liked a bit more of something.