bessadams's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, and Abandonment
melliedm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical content
Moderate: Abandonment, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Cursing, and Terminal illness
Spoiler
Intense depiction of childbirth with complicationsdori_mondon's review against another edition
3.0
I love a well-written memoir and was attracted to this ARC (thanks, NetGalley) by the title as it's another literary genre very close to my heart. Very beautifully connected here in ways that keep the memoir "real" while still giving it that tinge of magic that's so alluring.
In context, the author's sort of obsession with the "detriment" of only childhood makes sense, but even so, it's also the one reason I didn't give it five stars. While the idea of only childhood is very important to the story, there was a point where I found myself thinking "alright, enough already, clearly it's not just an important aspect of your story anymore but a VERY STRONG OPINION that perhaps isn't shared by everyone."
Other than that, it's beautifully written, lyrically lovely and magically real.
In context, the author's sort of obsession with the "detriment" of only childhood makes sense, but even so, it's also the one reason I didn't give it five stars. While the idea of only childhood is very important to the story, there was a point where I found myself thinking "alright, enough already, clearly it's not just an important aspect of your story anymore but a VERY STRONG OPINION that perhaps isn't shared by everyone."
Other than that, it's beautifully written, lyrically lovely and magically real.
estark16's review against another edition
3.0
Magical Realism has been one of my favorite genres for quite some time, perhaps ever since I stumbled upon Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude in a thrift store (and, yes, you can stumble upon it. I practically lived under a rock). So, when I saw Anika Fajardo's title of her memoir, I thought it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations.
Fajardo's memoir focuses on her journey to meet her estranged father in Columbia, a place where she knew she was born but otherwise had no memories of. Instead, she and her mother lived in Minnesota, very far from Columbia, both geographically and culturally.
Her journey calls to question her identity and the definition of family. She recalls at a point in elementary school that a teacher once told her that "every family has a father" after she drew only her mother and herself in a crayon-portrait of her family for an assignment. This stung, as I remember having a teacher do something so ignorant and hurtful as this to me around that age as well after my father passed.
There are no doubt touching moments. The writing can at times be extremely beautiful and poignant. However, it was also at times stilted and forced, and while the story was quite relate-able (likely even more so for those who struggle with cultural identity), unfortunately it just didn't grab my interest. Finally, if there was any connection to magical realism other than the complicated family ties and setting that may be similar to Marquez's novel, it was too weak for me to perceive.
Thank you to Anika Fajardo, University of Minnesota Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to access this book to review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Fajardo's memoir focuses on her journey to meet her estranged father in Columbia, a place where she knew she was born but otherwise had no memories of. Instead, she and her mother lived in Minnesota, very far from Columbia, both geographically and culturally.
Her journey calls to question her identity and the definition of family. She recalls at a point in elementary school that a teacher once told her that "every family has a father" after she drew only her mother and herself in a crayon-portrait of her family for an assignment. This stung, as I remember having a teacher do something so ignorant and hurtful as this to me around that age as well after my father passed.
There are no doubt touching moments. The writing can at times be extremely beautiful and poignant. However, it was also at times stilted and forced, and while the story was quite relate-able (likely even more so for those who struggle with cultural identity), unfortunately it just didn't grab my interest. Finally, if there was any connection to magical realism other than the complicated family ties and setting that may be similar to Marquez's novel, it was too weak for me to perceive.
Thank you to Anika Fajardo, University of Minnesota Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to access this book to review. As always, all opinions are my own.
bexcapades's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars - Full review will be posted on my blog on 2nd April but can be moved upon request.
Interesting read about a woman who meets her father 20 years after her mother moved them away from him. She explores what it was like to grow up in a single parent as half-Columbian and meeting her father and being introduced to Columbian culture and trying to improve her Spanish.
She discovers years later that she has a brother who was born just a couple of weeks before she was. They navigate their family as adults and she has to re-learn the behaviours she developed thinking that she was an only child.
Overall, an interesting read but it didn't stand out.
Interesting read about a woman who meets her father 20 years after her mother moved them away from him. She explores what it was like to grow up in a single parent as half-Columbian and meeting her father and being introduced to Columbian culture and trying to improve her Spanish.
She discovers years later that she has a brother who was born just a couple of weeks before she was. They navigate their family as adults and she has to re-learn the behaviours she developed thinking that she was an only child.
Overall, an interesting read but it didn't stand out.