Xochitl Gonzalez's debut does not disappoint! Following the titular character's journey through her most recent love story, her family drama, and her devastating past with her parents, Olga's story isn't one you'll soon forget. Balanced with narrations from the men in her life and letters from her mother, Olga's story drags you in, and won't let you go even after you've finished the last page.
Xochitl Gonzalez received her M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow and the recipient of the Michener Copernicus Prize in Fiction. Prior to writing, Xochitl wore many hats, including entrepreneur, wedding planner, fund-raiser, and tarot card reader. She is a proud alumna of the New York City Public Schools system and holds a B.A. in art history and visual art from Brown University. She lives in her hometown of Brooklyn with her dog, Hectah Lavoe. You can find her online at xochitlgonzalez.com or on Twitter and Instagram @xochitltheg.
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro "Prieto" Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1 percent, but she can't seem to find her own . . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets. Olga and Prieto's mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives. Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Xochitl Gonzalez's Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife, and the very notion of the American dream—all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
I loved Olga's voice. I was instantly drawn into the narration style Gonzalez chose, because it focused on details without ever losing the main, overarching threads. The very first chapter is one I won't soon forget. Throughout the novel, Gonzalez's Olga narrates this way: honing in on one very specific detail, and using it as a conceit to describe very complicated dynamics, whether they be family dynamics or political corruption or romance troubles. I adored this narration style, as it meant that I caught the meaning behind recurring details and the overarching commentary Gonzalez packed the novel with. The best part of this narration style is how accessible it feels; whether you love books written in this way or haven't ever tried one before, Olga Dies Dreaming is and can be a book you can pick up and love right off the bat like I did.
While I love Olga's narration style, I was even more pleased to see that Olga's narration was split up by chapters narrated by her brother, politican Prieto, her old flame, the aptly-named Dick, and her mother, through a series of letter correspondence. I loved Prieto's chapters the best, because I was able to see how Olga and Prieto, despite experiencing the same things in childhood, grew to be two separate people. Dick's chapters were hard to read (as I believe they were meant to be) and helped add to the overall commentary the novel was getting at, and the critique of political and private corporation systems in the first place. The mother's letters were heartbreaking and infuriating, and necessary additions to see how Olga and Prieto were reacting to news the way they were. These chapters narrated by Prieto, Dick, and Blanca gave further depth to the story that would not have been achieved solely through Olga's point of view.
I also adored how this novel was more than just one thing. Olga's and Matteo's romance definitely intrigued my curiosity, and I loved how Gonzalez depicted a love story that wasn't between two twenty-somethings on the cusp of their lives. But, the romance was tempered by Olga's own soul searching about what she really wanted out of her life. This, in turn, was further complicated by the political corruption she becomes more and more aware of through her brother's revelations and her mother's actions. The storyline about AIDS/HIV in the present day was also compelling—I personally had only ever engaged with media that described the AIDS/HIV crisis when it was at its worst in the 80s, so getting to examine this health matter through present day lens was even more eyeopening. So, while the romance originally drew me in, I stayed because I wanted to know more about how Olga and her brother would overcome all of the family drama that impacted their lives and how Puerto Rico would be supported by the government (if at all) and how, at the end of the day, Olga would be able to move forward after her mother's abandonment.
There is just so much good to say about this book that I think everyone should read it. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more from Xochitl Gonzalez, and I think you should, too. In the meantime, you can find her online at xochitlgonzalez.com or on Twitter and Instagram @xochitltheg.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
Comments
Post a Comment