A review by elly29
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

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? It's complicated

2.0

Oof, this was a hot mess. I’m kinda sad it’s my first completed read of 2024. It kept on trying to be the Ecuadorian “1100 Years of Solitude” Lite™️, complete with magical realism. But, it just felt all over the place: the magic system was haphazard, the giant cast of characters poorly fleshed-out,  we zigzag from past to present, and it started out achingly slow but then wrapped up far too fast. I’d argue that Tatinelly’s and Rey’s roles could have been consolidated into one character, and the parts about the family condensed. Or, to give everyone adequate treatment, it could have been 8x longer. The ending was okay, but I have so many unanswered questions, though. (Poor Mike Sullivan.) I admit I was skimming, but it felt like the relevant parts (like Pena and Marimar talking about the door at the bottom of the lake, for example, and how the fish get in) hadn’t been referenced earlier in the novel. Or, that it was lazy writing when Tatinelly spread her father Felix’s ashes in the river — I didn’t care! Or that Ana Cruz intercepted them in Guayaquil felt fake, like a setup, and so nefarious, that I didn’t trust Ana Cruz for the next few chapters. It was too easy and convenient. Ugh, this was not a novel for me.

I mean, sure, it’s a generational “saga” where we learn that toxic masculinity is Bad, and toxic men with power is one of the most dangerous foes one can face. Anything else? Yeah… it felt like a halfway decent travelogue for Ecuador, and I know that there are 444 steps to the top of the hill in whatever city they were in.

This felt so much like that Erin Morgenstern sequel, “The Starless Sea.” Pretty writing, but boy did the story not make sense to me.
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