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A review by perfect_leaves
Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
5.0
There is so much here.
This story can be so many different things so different people, which is also exactly what part of the plot is.
You can take it for surface value and watch a girl struggle with her divinely given powers.
You can interpret it as one's overall struggle with the role religion plays in their life.
You can interpret is as one working through what it means to be there for others while taking care of oneself.
You can interpret it as one's struggle to find their own identity. I'd even go so far as to suggest it could be read as an allegory for LGBTQ+ people coming out, but that's a tenuous reading because there is so much casual queer rep in the book that it doesn't make sense for there to be a hidden through line as well. Nothing is impossible though.
The text is beautifully written. As others have mentioned, there's a LOT of Spanish words mixed in, but you don't actually need to know the exact meanings of the words to understand the story. The context and descriptions are enough. I don't speak Spanish and had no issues with it. I found the mixing of random Spanish words to be natural. That's how multilingual people speak. We don't often switch languages from one sentence to another. Instead, we switch back and forth in the middle of sentences. We think in concepts and our mouths speak whichever word our brains reaches first, regardless of language.
There's not a lot of action in this book, it's more philosophical. That said, i did not find it too slow. The plot turns on the characters conversations and interactions with each other more than on big events like boss battles and tragedies. In fact, the deaths are merely earmarks in the story. They're described but they are not the big tragedies deaths usually become in a novel.
I found myself relating a lot to different aspects of the characters. While i found the story interesting, i wouldn't say this is an entertainment novel. Rather, it's a thinking novel.
I've also listened to the audiobook and Frankie Corzo's performance is phenomenal. I never found myself actively thinking about the narration because the way she read the book just made sense.
This story can be so many different things so different people, which is also exactly what part of the plot is.
You can take it for surface value and watch a girl struggle with her divinely given powers.
You can interpret it as one's overall struggle with the role religion plays in their life.
You can interpret is as one working through what it means to be there for others while taking care of oneself.
You can interpret it as one's struggle to find their own identity. I'd even go so far as to suggest it could be read as an allegory for LGBTQ+ people coming out, but that's a tenuous reading because there is so much casual queer rep in the book that it doesn't make sense for there to be a hidden through line as well. Nothing is impossible though.
The text is beautifully written. As others have mentioned, there's a LOT of Spanish words mixed in, but you don't actually need to know the exact meanings of the words to understand the story. The context and descriptions are enough. I don't speak Spanish and had no issues with it. I found the mixing of random Spanish words to be natural. That's how multilingual people speak. We don't often switch languages from one sentence to another. Instead, we switch back and forth in the middle of sentences. We think in concepts and our mouths speak whichever word our brains reaches first, regardless of language.
There's not a lot of action in this book, it's more philosophical. That said, i did not find it too slow. The plot turns on the characters conversations and interactions with each other more than on big events like boss battles and tragedies. In fact, the deaths are merely earmarks in the story. They're described but they are not the big tragedies deaths usually become in a novel.
I found myself relating a lot to different aspects of the characters. While i found the story interesting, i wouldn't say this is an entertainment novel. Rather, it's a thinking novel.
I've also listened to the audiobook and Frankie Corzo's performance is phenomenal. I never found myself actively thinking about the narration because the way she read the book just made sense.