A review by annreadsabook
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I came into this book with pretty high expectations but finished feeling a bit disappointed. I think that, with a bit of a cleaner execution, I definitely would’ve liked this more. I felt that there was too much heavy-handed exposition; backgrounds of facts and characters would go on for paragraphs to the point where it felt a bit like a slog. At one point, Matteo explains to Olga—a Brooklyn-born woman of Puerto Rican descent (whose own mother WAS a Young Lord)— who/what the Young Lords were. Additionally, there were a couple plot points towards the second half of the book that felt as though they were thoughtlessly cast into the novel in—I struggled to see the need for inserting them and it, in my opinion, muddled the book’s overall delivery. I just felt that the narration needed a bit of cleanup and some better flow.

On the positive side, I did enjoy walking through NYC with Olga and experiencing its sights and sounds as she contends with gentrification, government neglect of PR, and the ups and downs of finding love as someone in her early forties.


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