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A review by booksmellers
Who Would Have Thought It? by Rosaura Sánchez, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
If there's one thing this book is, it's interesting.
1. Writing style. This style probably won't work for everyone, but I actually liked the approach she took. It wasn't overly descriptive or flowery so it's more focused on dialogue and exploring character relationships. The narrator addresses the reader (as is typical for these types of novels), so that was fun, and overall, the novel is pretty funny.
2. Plot. There are a lot of moving parts in this novel, some of which are engaging, some of which were a slog to get through. However, the fast-paced writing, interesting overarching plot, and large cast of characters made it so the uninteresting parts didn't last too long. Love a good ensemble story!
3. Perspective. I've read quite a few 19th century American novels, but most of them have been written by white authors. I think this is the first novel from this time period I've read by a Mexican-American author, so it was interesting to get an idea of how Ruiz de Burton understood American society and the Civil War.
4. It's highly satirical and sentimental, and that's the point. It's self-aware of this fact and intentionally overexaggerates the qualities that make it so, to the point of beating you over the head. Still, many of the satirical elements served the story.
5. Satire emphasizes the politically didactic messages of the novel---again, to the point of beating the reader over the head. This is one aspect of the novel I did not love at some points. I don't mind a didactic novel (I mean, Little Women is one of my favorite books) but from a contemporary lens, some of the lessons this novel tries to teach are highly problematic; namely, in order to paint Mexicans in a good light the author berates Native Americans and the Black community. And look, I understand this was published in the 1870s, the standards were different, and she used this as a way to cope with the racism she herself faced, but I still think it's important to address it in the present so these mistakes aren't repeated.
Overall, I mostly liked this? I hated the ending, but I do feel like I got something out of it at least. The novel as a whole is quite different (in a good way) just be aware of the historical time period it's set in.
1. Writing style. This style probably won't work for everyone, but I actually liked the approach she took. It wasn't overly descriptive or flowery so it's more focused on dialogue and exploring character relationships. The narrator addresses the reader (as is typical for these types of novels), so that was fun, and overall, the novel is pretty funny.
2. Plot. There are a lot of moving parts in this novel, some of which are engaging, some of which were a slog to get through. However, the fast-paced writing, interesting overarching plot, and large cast of characters made it so the uninteresting parts didn't last too long. Love a good ensemble story!
3. Perspective. I've read quite a few 19th century American novels, but most of them have been written by white authors. I think this is the first novel from this time period I've read by a Mexican-American author, so it was interesting to get an idea of how Ruiz de Burton understood American society and the Civil War.
4. It's highly satirical and sentimental, and that's the point. It's self-aware of this fact and intentionally overexaggerates the qualities that make it so, to the point of beating you over the head. Still, many of the satirical elements served the story.
5. Satire emphasizes the politically didactic messages of the novel---again, to the point of beating the reader over the head. This is one aspect of the novel I did not love at some points. I don't mind a didactic novel (I mean, Little Women is one of my favorite books) but from a contemporary lens, some of the lessons this novel tries to teach are highly problematic; namely, in order to paint Mexicans in a good light the author berates Native Americans and the Black community. And look, I understand this was published in the 1870s, the standards were different, and she used this as a way to cope with the racism she herself faced, but I still think it's important to address it in the present so these mistakes aren't repeated.
Overall, I mostly liked this? I hated the ending, but I do feel like I got something out of it at least. The novel as a whole is quite different (in a good way) just be aware of the historical time period it's set in.