Reviews with content warning for Rape - Olga Dies Dreaming

I really loved this book. It started off a bit scattered, but once you found the tether, it was funny, charming, emotional, and informative. I (much to my embarrassment) don’t know a lot about Puerto Rican history, so it was educational and exciting to piece together some of that history through the characters of this book.

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laurenisallbooked's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this novel about identity, love, home, and politics -- and how messy the path is to finding and nurturing each of those.

Gonzalez's writing is funny and sharp. The way she conveyed the indominable presence of Olga's mother and dominance of her voice, when the woman herself isn't really in the book, was so powerful. The parallel between Olga's mother and a literal hurricane!! Touching down briefly and leaving a path of destruction that will take years, and support from many others, to repair.

It was beautiful how each character had a relationship where we watched their healing, in stark contrast to the relationships where we watched them suffer harm. My only gripe is that I wish the narrative had been a little tighter; the end felt rushed relative to the rest of the novel.

He offered the words to her, loaded as they were with meaning. And she accepted what he said with gentle care. Fear and affection bubbled warm in her chest. ... She wanted to tell him that she was honored that it was her. That she understood pain like that. That, for her, instead of filling her house, she had slowly stripped herself bare, until there was nothing. But she was too out of the practice of loving, in that moment, to say those things.

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yyes's review against another edition

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streberkatze's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was one of my favorite books this year so far. The author brilliantly weaves together the story of her protagonists, told from different perspectives, with Puerto Rican history and U. S. politics. This is also a great read for readers who enjoy a strong sense of place, especially in New York City. Brooklyn really comes alive in this book. And the audiobook version, recorded by three amazing Puerto Rican voice actors, makes the story even more immersive and contributes to the already amazing character development. The resolution

felt a little too neat for my taste

, but this was such a minor issue at the very end of a great read, it didn't really matter to me.

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