Anexis Matos

I read this book for Envision’s College Success Program’s book club. If you are a college student who is blind or visually impaired, this may be a good resource for you. To learn more about them, visit their web site.

I don’t have a lot to say regarding this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started it, but it turned out to be a great experience.

Synopsis

Olga is a wedding planner for Manhattan’s powerbrokers. Pedro is a congressman representing their latinx neighborhood. While their public lives appear perfect, things are far from that behind closed doors. Things change for the worse when their estranged mother comes back into their lives.

Book Information

Genre: Fiction
Category: Adult
Explicit sex: No
Explicit violence: No
Content warnings I noticed: Psychological abuse, a heavy emphasis on being a gay man in latinx culture, including the use of a slur, and, though not explicit, sexual assault

This is a standalone.

Review

The prose is great. Very accessible and easy to read.

This story is written in chapters and letters. We mainly follow Olga and Pedro’s points of view, but there’s also one more. The letters are written from their mother’s point of view. I enjoyed these sections immensely.

The pacing is slow. It’s not something that bothers me, but it could bother other readers. It takes a very long time to get to the plot, but it builds up to it so well. It’s also a character-driven story, so the pacing fits perfectly.

The themes are very well explored. González explores various topics and ties them together so well. They’re given an equal amount of time on the page and I love it.

The characters are amazing. They’re relatable in varying degrees. They’re as complex as real life humans are. Olga can come off as really unlikable to some readers in the beginning, but I liked her immediately. I don’t know. I found her interesting.

A warning before I continue my discussion on these characters. I’m about to talk about Pedro who deals with being gay and latinx. If this is a hard topic, skip this section. Also, a light spoiler.

We get a flashback in the story where members of the council blackmail Pedro with the fact that he’s gay in order to get him to vote supporting things they want. They use the fact that the latinx people would not want to be represented by a gay man, using a very familiar slur that I refuse to write. I’m latinx, but there are certain things that quite frankly embarrass me about the culture. I choose to focus on the best parts, but I don’t think it’s right to ignore the terrible ones. I think it’s fair to be ashamed of the parts that are very harmful to other people.

Pedro agrees to their demands, having no choice. From what I’ve observed, being a gay man in latinx culture generally means your masculinity is challenged. In my own family, I’ve seen people equate being a gay man to being a woman. If they happen to know how to cook, then they’re really women according to some people.

His choice here makes sense. Unfortunately, not all people in the latinx culture are very accepting. The author handles this theme very well through Pedro as an individual character and through his interactions with other characters. I’m not going to spoil anything else about him, but know that I’m definitely impressed, especially considering that this is the author’s debut novel.

A warning before I continue. I’ll be discussing psychological abuse. If this is a hard topic for you, skip this section. Also, a light spoiler.

When Olga was 13, her mother left her and Pedro to pursue her dreams of being part of a revolution to free Puerto Rico from the United States. She leaves Olga a letter, telling her that she’ll keep an eye on them. She keeps her word and, for years, sends letters to her children, none of them knowing how. She uses these letters to control their lives, using very subtle psychological abuse. The best manipulation has a grain of truth and this woman proves it.

It’s great when you can see yourself in books. It means you’re not alone. This is at least the case for me. I don’t usually see myself in real people. It’s rare when I do. Seeing myself in books makes me happy. I saw myself a little bit in Olga, but I did not expect to be validated by her mother. I did not expect to see a part of myself in her. I don’t know how to feel about this.

Olga’s mother acknowledges the difference between her generation and Olga’s. More specifically, she acknowledges the difference between the women of her generation and Olga’s. Through her manipulation, she encourages Olga to do more with her life. She explains that, unlike her, Olga doesn’t have to deal with a husband or the cries of a hungry baby. That, unlike her, Olga has more freedom.

I published a poem called A Selfish Choice where I talk about my reasons for not wanting children. I’ve told plenty of people that I don’t want biological children, only to be told that I need to. The reason they give is that, when you’re old, they’re the ones who are going to take care of you. I find this to be a selfish reason to bring children into this fucked up world. They also tell me that it’s better to have your own children than adopting. Something about biological children being better. I also disagree with this. The interesting thing is that you won’t find anyone telling a man that they need to have children or ask them if they want any. When a woman or a person with a uterus expresses no interest in having children, society discourages them.

Here’s the poem if you’re interested in reading it.

I felt so validated because someone, even if it’s not in my actual life, acknowledges that things have changed. Many people are compelled to tell me that things are not done a certain way because of the fact that I’m a woman. To them, anyway. I don’t identify with that label anymore, but I still present as feminine. It’s a constant argument.

Olga and Pedro’s mother also represents how strict the rules were for women. So strict that she felt like she was small. Like she was locked in a box, so she left to pursue her dreams. It’s easy to judge her, but I’m sympathetic to her. Her feelings are relatable. Society constantly pushes us into boxes and, the moment we step out of them, we’re judged. As twisted as it may be, I think she loves her children. However, she only loves them when she can control them.

I love these characters individually, but I also love their family dynamics. It reminds me so much of latinx families. It’s great.

There’s a romantic plotline in this story. I don’t have much to say about it. It’s fine.

Conclusion

Overall, I love this story. There are so many great things about it. I’ve had a lot of fun describing this book as Dynasty, but with a plot. It reminds me of classic telenovelas like La Usurpadora. I rated it four stars.