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catalinalao's review against another edition
4.0
Reading the first pages, perhaps even first chapter, I thought what is going on? What is this about and where is this going? It piqued my curiosity and I was so glad I stuck with it. It all came together in a bit of a beautiful way
susanatherly's review against another edition
5.0
I am still emotional after finishing this book. It is a beautiful written story of the life of a Cuban woman who lived through the Cuban Revolution as it is uncovered by her nephew. It is told with elegant pacing, vibrant descriptions and has an ambitious plot that could have gone wrong in so many places but never seems to set a wrong foot.
One part magical realism and one part historical fiction, it is worth the journey. I have read almost a dozen books by Daniel Jose Older - he is one of my favorite authors.
One part magical realism and one part historical fiction, it is worth the journey. I have read almost a dozen books by Daniel Jose Older - he is one of my favorite authors.
intensej's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Ramón's aunt, Marisol, disappeared during the Cuban Revolution. In New Jersey, Marisol's spirit finds Ramón and pushes him to find out the truth about what happened to Marisol. The Book of Lost Saints is told from the perspective of Marisol's spirit. I had a hard time getting into the book because the narrator is so distant from most of the action in the book. I also felt that the author's language was unnecessarily flowery and wordy. However, I enjoyed the last quarter of the book, and I felt like the ending of the book really made up for the book's slow beginning. Fans of magical realism will enjoy this book.
Content: some torture
Ramón's aunt, Marisol, disappeared during the Cuban Revolution. In New Jersey, Marisol's spirit finds Ramón and pushes him to find out the truth about what happened to Marisol. The Book of Lost Saints is told from the perspective of Marisol's spirit. I had a hard time getting into the book because the narrator is so distant from most of the action in the book. I also felt that the author's language was unnecessarily flowery and wordy. However, I enjoyed the last quarter of the book, and I felt like the ending of the book really made up for the book's slow beginning. Fans of magical realism will enjoy this book.
Content: some torture
louismunozjr's review against another edition
5.0
Una gran y hermosa obra, a great and beautiful work. If I could give this book TEN stars, I would. Powerful. Gut-wrenching. Uplifting. Haunting, in both chilling and sublime ways. Magical, both literally and figuratively. Life-affirmative. Unforgettable.
dami_96's review
I only read up to chapter 10. DNF!!! If I'm being honest, this book had a hard time keeping my attention. I like how it written from the ghost perspective and the story is interesting but I guess it not for me. I'm giving it 3 stars becuz I do like how the book is written and the plot is good. I just can't focus long enough to finish it.
abigators's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
slanik's review against another edition
5.0
Slated for release on November 9th, 2019, The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older is a haunting and intriguing book that readers are going to love.
The story centers around Marisol, a spirit who is desperate to find out what happened to her in the past and how she died. She remembers fragment by fragment of her history and infuses those memories into the dreams of her nephew Ramón, a DJ. Ramón keeps a book of all his vivid dreams, but when he starts asking questions, his family evades him and refuses to answer anything. The story is told from Marisol’s perspective, so we see firsthand the horrifying memories she keeps gaining. It’s part mystery, part history, and ultimately a story about family and legacy.
The first aspect of this book that I absolutely loved was that it prompted me to do a bit of research into the revolutions and unrest in Cuba under Torrado, then Castro.
"What do you do when you’ve already torn down the world to make a better one and the better one turns out to be just as rotten as the one you shattered?
You shatter the world all over again, I suppose and keep breaking it until you get one you can name Freedom."
I had a vague notion about the revolution, but knew little to nothing about the in your face brutality of Fidél Castro, which spurred another revolution.
There was a significant gap in my knowledge of Cuban history outside of knowing a little about cult status of Che Guevera, a leader of one of the branches that finally overthrew Batista. So, thank you for prompting me to do a bit of research.
I also loved the focus on the deep connections families can have and how quickly they can be shattered and rebuilt. I admire the Cubano’s fierce love and hope for their homeland, despite living on foreign soil. Finally, my favorite parts were Marisol’s memories – they were well-written so that it keeps you wanting more and had vivid description.
One difficulty I had was that I haven’t spoken Spanish in decades. I could parse out a few words and phrases, but not all. It was funny because the ones I did google because they kept popping up ended up being curse words.
I had the opportunity to meet Daniel José Older on two occasions at Book Con. He loves what he does and is such a genuinely nice person – he takes his time with his fans and I appreciate that!
As an aside another one of my favorite quotes is:
"The point is, son, the reason that Willsmeeth is such a good actor, the thing that makes him above all others, is that he can play any character he wants, and he is still true to himself"
I just got home from Aladdin last night and this line is truer than ever. He’s the Genie, of course, but there is so much Will Smith in what he does and you can see his humor throughout. I think I could even pick out the lines he added himself. “I heard the princess is hot, where is she?” for instance.
There were so many good quotes in this book and here are my top five:
"The power of people knowing you have power means you don’t have to use it."
"You’ve always been a warrior, and now you are learning that a true warrior is also very vulnerable on the outside, the pain has become so great that is is impossible to act tough anymore."
"Wrap love around even the most broken parts of yourself, because they are what God has given you to remind you how strong you are."
"They persist, but so do I, it seems."
"The whole terrible system seemed like a setup sometimes: You crack slightly in the face of a world not built for you, and they load you up with medications till you can’t feel anything, then they act surprised when your body and mind rebel and the rebellion is an explosion outward instead of another fake suicide attempt. And then you’re done: locked away, disappeared, force-fed more meds and trapped in a smiley-faced spiral of How Are You Feeling Today and Let’s Talk About What Happened That Day, and it never fucking ends."
As a disclaimer, I received this digital ARC from Edelweiss for purposes of review and all opinions are my own.
The story centers around Marisol, a spirit who is desperate to find out what happened to her in the past and how she died. She remembers fragment by fragment of her history and infuses those memories into the dreams of her nephew Ramón, a DJ. Ramón keeps a book of all his vivid dreams, but when he starts asking questions, his family evades him and refuses to answer anything. The story is told from Marisol’s perspective, so we see firsthand the horrifying memories she keeps gaining. It’s part mystery, part history, and ultimately a story about family and legacy.
The first aspect of this book that I absolutely loved was that it prompted me to do a bit of research into the revolutions and unrest in Cuba under Torrado, then Castro.
"What do you do when you’ve already torn down the world to make a better one and the better one turns out to be just as rotten as the one you shattered?
You shatter the world all over again, I suppose and keep breaking it until you get one you can name Freedom."
I had a vague notion about the revolution, but knew little to nothing about the in your face brutality of Fidél Castro, which spurred another revolution.
There was a significant gap in my knowledge of Cuban history outside of knowing a little about cult status of Che Guevera, a leader of one of the branches that finally overthrew Batista. So, thank you for prompting me to do a bit of research.
I also loved the focus on the deep connections families can have and how quickly they can be shattered and rebuilt. I admire the Cubano’s fierce love and hope for their homeland, despite living on foreign soil. Finally, my favorite parts were Marisol’s memories – they were well-written so that it keeps you wanting more and had vivid description.
One difficulty I had was that I haven’t spoken Spanish in decades. I could parse out a few words and phrases, but not all. It was funny because the ones I did google because they kept popping up ended up being curse words.
I had the opportunity to meet Daniel José Older on two occasions at Book Con. He loves what he does and is such a genuinely nice person – he takes his time with his fans and I appreciate that!
As an aside another one of my favorite quotes is:
"The point is, son, the reason that Willsmeeth is such a good actor, the thing that makes him above all others, is that he can play any character he wants, and he is still true to himself"
I just got home from Aladdin last night and this line is truer than ever. He’s the Genie, of course, but there is so much Will Smith in what he does and you can see his humor throughout. I think I could even pick out the lines he added himself. “I heard the princess is hot, where is she?” for instance.
There were so many good quotes in this book and here are my top five:
"The power of people knowing you have power means you don’t have to use it."
"You’ve always been a warrior, and now you are learning that a true warrior is also very vulnerable on the outside, the pain has become so great that is is impossible to act tough anymore."
"Wrap love around even the most broken parts of yourself, because they are what God has given you to remind you how strong you are."
"They persist, but so do I, it seems."
"The whole terrible system seemed like a setup sometimes: You crack slightly in the face of a world not built for you, and they load you up with medications till you can’t feel anything, then they act surprised when your body and mind rebel and the rebellion is an explosion outward instead of another fake suicide attempt. And then you’re done: locked away, disappeared, force-fed more meds and trapped in a smiley-faced spiral of How Are You Feeling Today and Let’s Talk About What Happened That Day, and it never fucking ends."
As a disclaimer, I received this digital ARC from Edelweiss for purposes of review and all opinions are my own.
servemethesky's review against another edition
4.0
What a weird book! This totally perplexed me for a long time. I had trouble getting into it, as your narrator is a spirit who hangs out with living humans. I constantly thought Marisol was going to talk to Ramon, but she never did. Once I got into the story, it carried me along swiftly. A few times it dragged because you thought the mystery was solved, but a few twists and turns near the end really caught me by surprise. I had a few skeptical moments, but overall the book left me feeling like I’ll be thinking about it for a long while yet. It has a ton of heart to it.