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lennatheunicorncat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-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
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
chlorentine's review
4.0
This book is an amazing analysis of the history, culture, racial and gender nuances of turn-of-the-century Texas. The inclusion of anecdotes and mini-stories throughout mimics actual Tejano culture and further explores the sources for their values. It follows a single extended family, los Olivares, and although it is based largely on personal experience and knowledge, it is also heavily researched. The book is set in the years Jovita Gonzalez was born/an infant, and it details life in Texas as an extension of Mexico (even though it was legally in the U.S.) immediately before Americans immigrated there and changed the economy to an industrial one wherein the Mexican locals were forced into the lowest social class, the laborers. Worth a read! Slow-moving, but intimate and loving portrayal of a nuanced culture.
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