Reviews

Perpetual West by Mesha Maren

nodoy834's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

whatsbookinjenni's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

I loved Mesha Maren's debut, Sugar Run, and found this to be a very different follow-up novel (although I still enjoyed it). I think you can tell Maren is an academic, as those threads were very on the nose and thought-provoking, but the actual plot was a little random? I definitely will continue to read her work though, as I find it very thematically interesting. I'd also recommend if you like literary fiction that has fairly established plots, but is kind of academically-minded in its themes.

samanthaduhack's review

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

guerrillabooks's review

4.0

As indicated by my choice of stars, I really liked this book. I think the prose was beautiful, subtle descriptions inviting you to see the scenes and feel the things. There were details about politics and people, lucha libre and border towns, religious fanaticism and eating disorders that also made the story seem real, the people real, the situation real... but, I'm just not sure how I feel about the ending. It works. I respect it for its ambiguity, but what it made me feel most, was just how difficult endings can be to write in a satisfying way ;)

shelby92's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder

chantelmccray's review

4.0

A vivid page turner set in the borderlands along the Rio Grande. Two young newlyweds from West Virginia who have enrolled as students at a university in El Paso: Alex, a Mexican adopted as a baby by an American family, and his wife, Elana.

Unknown to Elana, Alex begins spending all of his free time in Juarez, mostly in the company of a lucha libre wrestler, Marco. Unknown to Alex, Marco is sponsored by a member of the cartel. When Alex disappears, Elana isn’t sure if he has left her willingly or if he is in danger. Uncomfortable with the culture and the language Elana journeys into Mexico to find him. Soon we find Alex and Elena are both hiding profound secrets from each other.

But there is so much more to sink your teeth into here than a missing person/drug cartel story. Perpetual West examines the romanization of Mexico’s violence and our prejudices toward it’s people and culture. It examines the lies we tell ourselves and our lovers, and asks if those closest to us can ever truly know who we really are.

Out tomorrow!

booknightowl's review

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book takes place at the Texas border and Mexico. Alex and Elana move to El Paso to start a new beginning. Alex is adopted by white parents but wants to learn more about where he comes from. Elana comes home from visiting family to find Alex is missing. The cops won’t help her so she takes it upon her own hands to find him. 

This book is a slow going book. You pick this up if you feel like reading a longer book because it has a lot going on.  I enjoyed reading it just felt like it could get wordy at times. I gave this book a B+ 

Thank you Algonquin books for an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

ayhuang's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

meaninglessmischief's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book had a lot of potential. The parts following Mateo and Alex were compelling and interesting but Elana as a character didn’t need to exist. Her sections half the pacing of the book and add almost nothing to the plot. I really did not like her as a character and her sections of the book plot focus on an eating disorder in depth which is fine but feel out of place in this story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder

jaccarmac's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The story behind Perpetual West's name was hidden near the end of the novel, as were most of the hints about its narrative center. That worked partially: My curiosity about Maren's earlier work has stuck around and the book's momentum gave it a plottiness subtle enough to work with its themes. However, I found that the language was simply not robust enough to support the variations in idea, character, and form. Elana eventually seemed like the most central and sympathetic character, but it was Alex's sighting of the lotería board which provided the best central metaphor. But the stochastic end also felt bleak, which is less in line with the style and inclusion of art, activism, border crossings and love. And I leave borders and love without a comma between them on purpose.