kandicez's review against another edition
3.0
I read this because it was assigned in my daughter’s lit. class. It’s not something I would have ever read on my own, so I’m glad I read it in that respect, but otherwise? Not so much.
The writing was first person, and I tend to like this. Unreliable narrator is even better and I think that’s a given here. Juani is telling her story and while doing so, examining just how our memories work. She has “memories” of things that happened in her family before she could possibly remember them. When we examine our own memories we realize that often we only “remember” something because we have been told the story so many times.
In addition to the examination of memory, many turbulent events take place in Juani’s life during the course of the season she writes. The final event is just… appalling. So appalling that I honestly thought I had misunderstood. The event is not described and only one line is dedicated to it. I am unsure if I feel this is because it’s so awful the author feels we can’t handle more, or because she dismisses it as a small thing so feels it deserves no more mention.
This is a sexually charged narrative, and I am no prude, but I think that’s why I didn’t enjoy it. It wasn’t love making in most cases, it was just icky.
The writing was first person, and I tend to like this. Unreliable narrator is even better and I think that’s a given here. Juani is telling her story and while doing so, examining just how our memories work. She has “memories” of things that happened in her family before she could possibly remember them. When we examine our own memories we realize that often we only “remember” something because we have been told the story so many times.
In addition to the examination of memory, many turbulent events take place in Juani’s life during the course of the season she writes. The final event is just… appalling. So appalling that I honestly thought I had misunderstood. The event is not described and only one line is dedicated to it. I am unsure if I feel this is because it’s so awful the author feels we can’t handle more, or because she dismisses it as a small thing so feels it deserves no more mention.
This is a sexually charged narrative, and I am no prude, but I think that’s why I didn’t enjoy it. It wasn’t love making in most cases, it was just icky.
tazrean's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
claudia_is_reading's review
4.0
This is a book about identity, about uprooting, about being queer inside a macho community, and about family.
It's about Juani and all her wrong choices, about making mistakes and get angry and being hurt until you finally get to understand who you really are.
I really liked it =D
And even when at first I didn't enjoy Ruth Oakes' voice, soon I got used to it and savoured her narration.
It's about Juani and all her wrong choices, about making mistakes and get angry and being hurt until you finally get to understand who you really are.
I really liked it =D
And even when at first I didn't enjoy Ruth Oakes' voice, soon I got used to it and savoured her narration.
shelikeswaves's review against another edition
4.0
Of all the Caribbean literature I've read this term, it is this, this odd, disturbing, frustrating novel, which has had the greatest impact on me.
I'd like to think that it isn't because I identify with the narrator; Juani Casas, twenty four years old, Cuban-American, lesbian, terminally incapable of taking a stand about anything in her life. Juani leads the reader through a tangled web of memory, family, politics and sexuality, paying attention to all the wrong things and striking out at those around her in her attempts to uncover a truth that may or may not exist. She's infuriating, unable to fully emphathise with the other characters, unable to drag herself out of the rut she's in.
And yet, Obejas draws me in, Juani's impossible dance speaking to something within me which I would prefer to ignore. The sense of displacement and suspension in the novel is really striking; the narrator is caught between two nations, between love and frustration, between family and her desire for truth. There is no real resolution here, just a hurricane of doubt and anger puctuated by the occasional calm of sensuality, or by the urgency of sex, or by distrubing power strugles.
A moving, honest and intruiging look at questions of sexuality, nationality, and identity.
I'd like to think that it isn't because I identify with the narrator; Juani Casas, twenty four years old, Cuban-American, lesbian, terminally incapable of taking a stand about anything in her life. Juani leads the reader through a tangled web of memory, family, politics and sexuality, paying attention to all the wrong things and striking out at those around her in her attempts to uncover a truth that may or may not exist. She's infuriating, unable to fully emphathise with the other characters, unable to drag herself out of the rut she's in.
And yet, Obejas draws me in, Juani's impossible dance speaking to something within me which I would prefer to ignore. The sense of displacement and suspension in the novel is really striking; the narrator is caught between two nations, between love and frustration, between family and her desire for truth. There is no real resolution here, just a hurricane of doubt and anger puctuated by the occasional calm of sensuality, or by the urgency of sex, or by distrubing power strugles.
A moving, honest and intruiging look at questions of sexuality, nationality, and identity.
taratearex's review against another edition
4.0
about a cuban lesbian living in chicago, about adjusting to american culture, being a lesbian, exile, cuba . . . i read it in high school and really really liked it, a lot of strange events, and great stories about life in cuba.
rubyxcube130's review against another edition
DNFed with like 15 minutes left in the audiobook so I'm saying I read it
maddieshort00's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was read for class and I found it the most emotionally challenging read so far this semester. It was helpful to have a discussion about it as we read to process some of the things that come up in discussing memory and power in these stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse
werds's review
2.0
Don't like that I didn't like it more: https://recenseernogeenkeer.wordpress.com/2016/05/12/memory-mambo/
jaycatt7's review
3.0
This was more the story of a family than a person. We moved backwards and forwards through time, exploring memory and truth.
I'm glad I read it, but I'm not quite sure what to say about it, at least without spoiling the ending.
I'm glad I read it, but I'm not quite sure what to say about it, at least without spoiling the ending.
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