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A review by justno
Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldívar
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC
I've been writing, thinking about this review since I was halfway through this book, something just told me I would need a lot of words to be able to convey what it made me feel.
In simple words this book feels like home, it feels like asambleas estudiantiles waiting to start while listening to Latinoamérica, is muros pintarrajeados and the dream that if you scream loud enough the world will listen and change. Other things are familiar too: the fear and uncertainty that comes every elections, the half joke half truth of saying that they will cut down power and come back winning if they don't like the results, the wish of fighting for a country that you don't even know if it will have a future.
Libertad takes all of that and it slaps you in the face.
I have lived in Latin America all of my life, aquí nací y aquí me criaron, and this same land will probably see me die one day, I have many many complaints about it, as we all do, and also so much love. Reading Libertad was like all of that, laughing to not cry about the injustices we all face, crying when I saw my own life reflected in the pages of the book. I can't describe the experience to those who have not lived it, but it feels like that moment of grace when a protest starts, walking with a group of people who believe in change, chanting, jumping and laughing, reading the signs and telling to the people "vecino mirón, únanse al montón, su hijo es estudiante y usted es trabajador." the joy and hope one feels before the police appears in front of you.
The prose and the poetry captures it perfectly, the Spanish, the glimpses to other people's POVs that immerses the reader deeper into the world, it's a beautiful work.
When I got this book in my email it felt meant to be, and I'm so glad I was able to read it, I'm so glad I got to know Libertad and I'm looking forward to what the author does next.
Y espero algún día vernos a todos libre, y viviendo la vida que siempre nos hemos merecido.
I've been writing, thinking about this review since I was halfway through this book, something just told me I would need a lot of words to be able to convey what it made me feel.
In simple words this book feels like home, it feels like asambleas estudiantiles waiting to start while listening to Latinoamérica, is muros pintarrajeados and the dream that if you scream loud enough the world will listen and change. Other things are familiar too: the fear and uncertainty that comes every elections, the half joke half truth of saying that they will cut down power and come back winning if they don't like the results, the wish of fighting for a country that you don't even know if it will have a future.
Libertad takes all of that and it slaps you in the face.
I have lived in Latin America all of my life, aquí nací y aquí me criaron, and this same land will probably see me die one day, I have many many complaints about it, as we all do, and also so much love. Reading Libertad was like all of that, laughing to not cry about the injustices we all face, crying when I saw my own life reflected in the pages of the book. I can't describe the experience to those who have not lived it, but it feels like that moment of grace when a protest starts, walking with a group of people who believe in change, chanting, jumping and laughing, reading the signs and telling to the people "vecino mirón, únanse al montón, su hijo es estudiante y usted es trabajador." the joy and hope one feels before the police appears in front of you.
The prose and the poetry captures it perfectly, the Spanish, the glimpses to other people's POVs that immerses the reader deeper into the world, it's a beautiful work.
When I got this book in my email it felt meant to be, and I'm so glad I was able to read it, I'm so glad I got to know Libertad and I'm looking forward to what the author does next.
Y espero algún día vernos a todos libre, y viviendo la vida que siempre nos hemos merecido.