Uff, otro favorito del 2023. Una belleza de libro por su prosa, su historia, su estructura y, sobre todo, por la mirada de la autora a través del camino que recorre desde su prueba de ADN hasta encontrar un cierre natural a los descubrimientos que la fuerzan a re-pensar su vida, identidad y el significado de sus raíces. Este año he escuchado de 3 historias distintas (reales) con la misma premisa sobre el descubrimiento de una verdad escondida después de una prueba de ADN.

Hermoso, la voz de la narradora ayudó, pero hay mucho lirismo y belleza en la prosa de la autora. Quiero leer todos sus libros, porque además logró contarme sobre la muerte de un niño en los 1500 y el dolor de su madre de una manera que nunca me cansó, sino que me hacía querer seguir escuchando. 

Lovely.

I want to go back and study philosophy (I thought about it briefly anyway before). Mostly it makes me realize that intersectionalism, not mentioned in the book explicitly, is a philosophical stand. It makes me want to write things about it. I'm also in love with Mike Schur.

Excelente regalo para cualquier nueva o expectante mamá: cortito, puntual, y lleno de sabiduría. Yo lo leí en voz alta mientras jugaba con mi bebé de meses, en un intento de que las palabras de este libro se impregnarán en el corazón y mente de ambas. Necesitamos criar niñas de maneras distintas y empoderadas (y también niños), leer este librito es una gran manera de comenzar.

A weird little gem

This is my kind of book. I read many reviews about how convoluted and nonsensical the narration was. I was worried about it. However, even though I listened to it rather than read a physical copy, I only had to go through an hour of narration before I was completely engrossed in the story, and not at all confused by the many storylines set in different times. It was more than I expected or hoped for. It reminded me of the Never Ending Story by Michael Ende, even though it's not really the same, but it almost made me feel the way I did when I read that as a young adolescent or child. There is something hopeful in the story, and so many topics touched upon beautifully through the lives of the characters. It made it so much more special that it was a book about a book...and the fact that that book is inspired in a potentially real book, it's even more special to me. Ahhhh I loved it. If the sinopsis provided by others draws your attention, you should definitely give it a shot.

En algún lugar leí que era una novela ambiociosa, lo es. Y logra sus ambiciones múltiples, ser sumamente entretenida y bien escrita mientras toca temas (a fondo) como la traducción, el lenguaje y sus poderes mágicos; la crisis del opio y Guerra en China; el colonialismo de Gran Bretaña; los ires y venires de la amistad que dura una vida; lo terrible de la discriminación racial, entre otros. Muy recomendable si algo de esto llama tu atención.

Esta familia se quedará conmigo por un rato, la madre y sus secretos, el padre y su egoísmo, la hija mayor tipo A, la hija "rebelde", el hijo que no deja ir los rencores. Todo enmarcado por un background histórico muy complejo y fuerte que se intersecta entre Líbano, Siria y EUA. Me pareció un libro bellamente escrito, sumamente entretenido y lleno de humanidad.

This should be the first thing you read of one is interested in understanding more about why feminism is so needed. It’s so engaging and short. Accesible for everyone, and yet so relevant.

Whatever good reviews say, it's true.

❤️

We all need to read this book. Fury leads to action. Anger is legitimate. Being mad is the beginning of change. Good changes.

Must read

The thoughts of a woman, a writer, an art lover, a family person, a citizen, a biracial being, a reader and a human being seeking spaces for true freedom. Beautiful. Some parts may not be for you (or as interesting(, for surely you'll find many essays through will you'l find light in some form or another. This is a great reading for life, or a perfect gift for your best friend.

Just an amazing audiobook experience, the narrator is just so clearly talented. Though even if I had read the physical version, I think I would find myself as fascinated as I am now by the beautiful prose of the author and her magnificent capability to tell a story that resounds today more than ever by re-telling the myths created hundreds of years ago. I feel a new love and curiosity for greek mythology that, to be honest, I never quite felt before.

Maravillosamente escrito. Vale sabe usar las palabras para describir su mundo, sus pensamiento y las asociaciones entre estos. Qué cosa.

I read the first part at the beginning of the year and It disappointed me a bit because I thought (weirdly) that the tv version was better, more gruesome, specific and intense. However, I loved this second part, not only because it answers questions, but because it does so in a magnificent way by choosing three characters that give us a 360 view of the women of Gilead. Even if you know more or less what's going to happen, you get submerged in the story. At least that happened to me. I hope you enjoy too.

Qué forma más original de acercanos a las realidades más duras de Latinoamérica, a las realidades que suenan a pesadillas, a leyendas tétricas, a las peores películas de horror. Y el acercamiento que Mariana nos da, desde mi punto de vista, es emocionante, emotivo en ocasiones, humorístico en otras y siempre bien escrito.

En poquitas páginas, unas 75, la autora desarrolla una filosofía del oficio de cuidar (a otros que no pueden cuidarse a sí mismos) que es tan amena y cálida como inteligente y profunda. Vale muchísimo la pena leerlo por muchas razones, siendo la más básica que esta mexicana tiene una voz original y una mente que brilla, y que sin sermonear o ser demasiado coloquial, te habla de todo México desde la experiencia de cuidar.

This is a beautiful memoir of which chronology is the least important aspect of it. The author looks back at her 18-year-old marriage with M, whom we get to know as a kind, smart, ambitious, adventurous, loving and eager to protect. She writes this at a point where you can tell that her marriage has suffered a big shake, where she has doubt him more than ever, where she has questioned the future, and for me, a woman about to embark on marriage, it was a lovely and honest reading, a preparation for the tumultuous and beautiful life ahead of us.