Reviews

El polvo nunca se asienta by Karina Lickorish Quinn

Only show reviews with written explanations

thedramareader's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

messypeasofmind's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

abbenway's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

There was a constant overlapping and interweaving of stories from across the generations, which fit perfectly with the descriptions of time happening all at once in Lima. Though this made it challenging to read at times, it created a stunningly atmospheric tone. A beautiful read for fans of Ishiguro or The Night Circus - lyrical, "vibe" based magical realism.

gengray47's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5⭐️? I think? I have no idea where to even start with this book ... but what a debut!

How deliciously strange and odd. Magical realism, in an extreme sense. Think the casita from Encanto but like.. evil.. but also good..?

Not the most likeable main character. Like, at all. There was something a little missing, but I can look past it. An incredible first book from the author and I can't wait to see what else she comes up with. This book was insane honestly.

"This was when Santa Julia understood that in Lima time is like a fog that permeates everything. Any moment, past or yet to come, can descend as a mist and mingle with the air of the present so that all is humid with the vapours of time. It clings to the hair, penetrates the bones, moistens the clothes of the citizens, leaving everything always a little damp. The limeños breathe it daily, creeping down from the mountains or rolling in from the sea – lost time. The city is steeped in it, moistened by it, dragged down into it and, simultaneously, borne forth upon its crest."

jenmulholland's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

4.5

elenasquareeyes's review against another edition

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2.0

The Dust Never Settles has two different narratives and timelines that eventually converge into one. The chapters alternate from Anaïs’ life in the present, to various moments in the history of the ‘yellow house’ and the people who are connected to it many generations ago. It’s an interesting way to tell this story and as more is revealed about the past and how different people are connected, sometimes in the smallest ways, it makes what Anaïs is experiencing in the present more grounded. Because Anaïs isn’t sure what she’s experiencing – and to be honest, neither did I a lot of the time. Anaïs is seeing ghosts, the world around her keeps changing, and as time goes on it’s clear she never really dealt with her grief of losing her mother. There’s also the fact that because Anaïs left Lima so long ago, being back she starts to feel like she’s been denying herself her heritage and culture. While her white British fiancé sees her as an expert in all things Peruvian, Anaïs soon realises that the locals see her as a tourist and don’t recognise that she is really one of them.

I really liked the vibes of The Dust Never Settles but after a while the actual story started to be a bit of a slog. The vibes are immaculate with the magical realism and the uncertainty of what’s supernatural or what’s not. There’s also the ‘yellow house’ itself which is a really vivid setting and one of the aspects of the story I liked the most. It’s a house that has seen a lot, good and bad, and it’s like a living tomb of Anaïs’ relatives who have all either left the house or died.

The Dust Never Settles’ story meanders quite a lot. The writing style won’t be for everyone and it often seemed to drift from one idea or metaphor to another. While Anaïs appears to be slowly losing her grip on reality, you then have chapters set in the 1500s, following a character that seems completely random but then half a dozen chapters later you see how that character’s descendants then met someone’s relatives who is connected to the Echevarria or is the ancestor to a side character we’ve met in the present. Some may love this kind of storytelling, but after a while I just found that I didn’t really care.

That’s also how I felt about Anaïs after a while – especially in regards to her relationship with her fiancé. He didn’t seem like a nice bloke and I was often left wondering if she ended up with him because it was convenient and whether she loved him at all.

Overall, I found the first half of The Dust Never Settles interesting because of the vibes, the house, and how different it was to anything I’d read recently. But then, the latter half of the book started to drag for me as I didn’t feel like the characters had much of an arc and it was the same vibes and repetitive plot of seeing things in the past and then seeing how they were connected to the present. I think The Dust Never Settles is an ambitious novel, but it isn’t one that really worked for me in the end.