A review by splitdice
Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago

emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

so ill start off with some things that i did not enjoy as much as other parts of this book: like others have said, i think the first fourth is incredibly slow and hard to get into. that part especially has a large amount of the untranslated english-spanish-french-german lines. however, once you move past that i found the middle part of this book to be quite emotional and gut wrenching. the structure of the book is divided by the 70s and 2017. i have to admit that the 70s chapters are a lot more engaging. luz is an unreliable narrator in a very niche way that i have not seen before that made chapters from her pov so unique. unfourtantely, it made the other chapters seem dull in comparison. i also feel like this book almost attempted too many things at once. it attempts to cover a sweeping range of topics, from being both black and puerto rican and disabled to  being gay and puerto rican. while i appreciate the diversity of the cast, some of the the points that the book tries to make feels rather shallow. 

that being said, i think the depecition of luz's disability is one of the most empathatic and emotional depictions of disability in fiction. i also think the metaphor that it represents about the puerto rican people is also quite beautiful. i think the messages and portrayls of female relationships(platonic, romantic, maternal, familial) are also one of the strongest parts about this book. but really, the shining star of this book is luz and her story. i have a feeling i will be thinking about her for a long, long time.