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A review by annbutnotanne
Dominicana by Angie Cruz
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was very good. Not quite a favorite, but a very good book. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm in an emotional state at the moment or because it was just that well done but this book had me in my feelings.
I really loved Cruz's writing here, I just found it to hit the emotions right on the head for most of the book, and aside from some...interesting word choices, there are passages I don't think I could willingly forget because they hit home so perfectly.
I find it so interesting how Cruz created all these interesting dynamics involving Ana, her family, even some of the friends she does make, and yet the character I arguably know the least about...is Ana. I've just spent 300 pages in her mind, and I can't list a single personality trait. I know she both misses and does not miss her family, that she's afraid of her husband, I even know that she does care about appearances, and yet I'm not entirely sure whether she's a self-absorbed person, if she carries grudges, none of that.
But my biggest complaint of them all is how unaddressed it is by the narrative that Cesar goes after his teenage sister-in-law. It's clearly established that Cesar, while not in his thirties like his brother, is an adult, and Ana is a teenager when this romance does take place. After the halfway point certain events make it a little difficult for both the audience and the narrative to remember that Ana is still 15, but she is. A 15 year old who's easily more mature than both of the brothers she's involved with, but a 15 year old nonetheless. And, while this is written in first person and Ana as a character would see him in a good light, we don't see a hint of how predatory this relationship is.
And, to be frank, their love story is the weakest part of the novel. I can't really tell you why Ana falls for Cesar, but he does, and vice versa. It was very much "we did some things and then I fell for him" and just dealing with that for a good third of the book. If this specific romance was not there I would have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars. Because, aside from this, it addressed so many difficult and complex subjects full-on and exactly the way I wanted them to be handled.
The way colorism in the Dominican community is shown in this book is perfectly captured, I can't say I've read many books that discussed it in this much detail. The mother-daughter dynamic was complicated as hell but still rings so true to life, the lives they've lived in particular. The sexualization of underage girls in DR was and continues to be an everpresent issue, and it's genuinely horrifying how easy it was (and likely still is) to marry an underage girl with no one asking any questions about it. I'm not going to forget about any of these elements, because they all hit home.
All in all, this book is important. Not perfect, but definitely important, and I hope it's available in spanish, because more Dominicans should read this story to see their culture and maybe even a bit of themselves within it.
I really loved Cruz's writing here, I just found it to hit the emotions right on the head for most of the book, and aside from some...interesting word choices, there are passages I don't think I could willingly forget because they hit home so perfectly.
I find it so interesting how Cruz created all these interesting dynamics involving Ana, her family, even some of the friends she does make, and yet the character I arguably know the least about...is Ana. I've just spent 300 pages in her mind, and I can't list a single personality trait. I know she both misses and does not miss her family, that she's afraid of her husband, I even know that she does care about appearances, and yet I'm not entirely sure whether she's a self-absorbed person, if she carries grudges, none of that.
But my biggest complaint of them all is how unaddressed it is by the narrative that Cesar goes after his teenage sister-in-law. It's clearly established that Cesar, while not in his thirties like his brother, is an adult, and Ana is a teenager when this romance does take place. After the halfway point certain events make it a little difficult for both the audience and the narrative to remember that Ana is still 15, but she is. A 15 year old who's easily more mature than both of the brothers she's involved with, but a 15 year old nonetheless. And, while this is written in first person and Ana as a character would see him in a good light, we don't see a hint of how predatory this relationship is.
And, to be frank, their love story is the weakest part of the novel. I can't really tell you why Ana falls for Cesar, but he does, and vice versa. It was very much "we did some things and then I fell for him" and just dealing with that for a good third of the book. If this specific romance was not there I would have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars. Because, aside from this, it addressed so many difficult and complex subjects full-on and exactly the way I wanted them to be handled.
The way colorism in the Dominican community is shown in this book is perfectly captured, I can't say I've read many books that discussed it in this much detail. The mother-daughter dynamic was complicated as hell but still rings so true to life, the lives they've lived in particular. The sexualization of underage girls in DR was and continues to be an everpresent issue, and it's genuinely horrifying how easy it was (and likely still is) to marry an underage girl with no one asking any questions about it. I'm not going to forget about any of these elements, because they all hit home.
All in all, this book is important. Not perfect, but definitely important, and I hope it's available in spanish, because more Dominicans should read this story to see their culture and maybe even a bit of themselves within it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Adult/minor relationship