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gelowo93's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
inoirita's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful ode to Peru immersed in maddening elements of magical realism, The Dust Never Settles by Karina Lickorish Quinn is a magnificent debut emanating imagination at its finest. The story is surreal and the characters are anything but ordinary. The narrative constantly jumps from the dead and the living, the past and the present, the reality and the imagination creating a whirlwind of startling journeys.
Anaïs was half English and half Peruvian. Although she was moulded in Peru throughout her childhood years, since the last few years she has been staying in England with her English partner. It was required for her to sign off the papers of the strange yellow mansion that she used to call her childhood home in order to allow modern residential construction and hence she set on a journey to Peru.
Our second narrator is Santa Julia, who once upon a time was a maid in the yellow house. But it was in her destiny to have met an unfortunate death in the house only to be resurrected as a saint. Santa Julia was for the common people and through her eyes the reader constantly time travels through hundreds of years, from the immigrants and the slaves, the unfortunate souls that she had witnessed were suffering. She is constantly busy in providing a hand to those in need, a cornucopia for the people.
Anaïs and Julia makes living and death more complex to us. The overwhelming paranoia that life in earth offers amidst all its impediments to Anaïs and strange comfort in little hopes after death that Julia experiences are so contrasting, it felt like I was reading two completely different books at the same time. But after the last chapter, it all came together.
Comprising of themes of personal identity and culture manifested in the form of an exceptional literary fiction, The Dust Never Settles is a hugely satisfying read.
Anaïs was half English and half Peruvian. Although she was moulded in Peru throughout her childhood years, since the last few years she has been staying in England with her English partner. It was required for her to sign off the papers of the strange yellow mansion that she used to call her childhood home in order to allow modern residential construction and hence she set on a journey to Peru.
Our second narrator is Santa Julia, who once upon a time was a maid in the yellow house. But it was in her destiny to have met an unfortunate death in the house only to be resurrected as a saint. Santa Julia was for the common people and through her eyes the reader constantly time travels through hundreds of years, from the immigrants and the slaves, the unfortunate souls that she had witnessed were suffering. She is constantly busy in providing a hand to those in need, a cornucopia for the people.
Anaïs and Julia makes living and death more complex to us. The overwhelming paranoia that life in earth offers amidst all its impediments to Anaïs and strange comfort in little hopes after death that Julia experiences are so contrasting, it felt like I was reading two completely different books at the same time. But after the last chapter, it all came together.
Comprising of themes of personal identity and culture manifested in the form of an exceptional literary fiction, The Dust Never Settles is a hugely satisfying read.
kat7890erina's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
The Dust Never Settles is aptly named. The reader is drawn into a dervish of complex character histories and interweaving stories amongst a maelstrom of magical realism and family mythology. An unusual experience.
The Dust Never Settles is aptly named. The reader is drawn into a dervish of complex character histories and interweaving stories amongst a maelstrom of magical realism and family mythology. An unusual experience.
eghegh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
thedramareader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
messypeasofmind's review against another edition
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
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
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."
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."