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mmkn_99's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Too tense and too sad for me. Very well written, very beautifully real stories. Just a bit too emotional for me.
jodi_b's review against another edition
3.0
Not may favorite book by [author: Christina Garcia], but a good story. Garcia tells a story of luck (and misfortune) through three characters (from Cuba, El Salvador and Iran) whose lives become interconnected.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
2.0
Cristina Garcia created three likable, colorful characters, any of which had the potential for a great novel on his/her own. Then she inexplicably placed them all in the same novel and switched back and forth between their stories. The result is that we never really get to know any of them or their stories very well. Huge chunks of time are skipped over, and we reenter their lives feeling like we missed too much. There's never any sense as to why they're all in the same book, although they do interact somewhat as the book progresses. I have no idea why she chose that title, either. I was left with that "huh?" feeling at the end.
However, I think Garcia has some admirable writing skills and I'm willing to give her another chance in a different book.
However, I think Garcia has some admirable writing skills and I'm willing to give her another chance in a different book.
maylingkuo's review against another edition
4.0
this is one of those books i picked up while wandering the news books area of green library - judging a book by its cover! it's one of my favorite ways to find books at the library.
it turned out to be wonderful - so expressive and you really get invested in the characters, wanting to know how things turn out. the three characters are so different and they all start as children, a poor girl from san salvador, a cuban boy raised in las vegas by a magician father and a rich girl from tehran living in santa monica before returning to iran for an arranged marriage. this book has soul and my only criticism is that i was left wanting more to find some closure on their stories, but that's not life, is it?
it turned out to be wonderful - so expressive and you really get invested in the characters, wanting to know how things turn out. the three characters are so different and they all start as children, a poor girl from san salvador, a cuban boy raised in las vegas by a magician father and a rich girl from tehran living in santa monica before returning to iran for an arranged marriage. this book has soul and my only criticism is that i was left wanting more to find some closure on their stories, but that's not life, is it?
sas408's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really well written and the characters are engaging. Enrique is smart, good with numbers and takes care of his father, the only family he has left. Marta longs for children but babies her much older husband instead. Leila is the most baffling character - she seems so independent and strong willed but bows to her mother's demands and husband's tyranny. Family obligations, and the life decisions we make because of family, are evident throughout the book - family can be loving and nourishing but also constricting and limiting.
agingerandherbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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