01/08/2023
It’s for what will probably be one of my favorite reads of the year, Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo!
Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book follows the four Marte sisters: Matilde, the oldest, is said to have no magic, but she can dance like no one else; Flor has dreams of impending deaths — and now she is throwing herself a living wake (much to her family’s concern and confusion); Pastora, whose magic allows her to know the truth in what she hears, wants nothing more than to protect her family; and Camilla, whose proficiency with herbs and tinctures is unrivaled, is tired of being overlooked. Also interwoven are the stories of Flor’s daughter Ona, who is doing some family anthropology while struggling with her own desire to start a family; and Yadi, whose comfortable life is upturned by the release of her childhood love from prison. In the complex internal thoughts and memories of these six women, Family Lore tells the story of preparations for Flor’s wake and the challenges, questions, and feelings that come along.
Family Lore is a work of art. It is lyrical, magical, quiet and exuberant, full of love and hope and fear and all sorts of challenging emotions woven into a truly beautiful story.
The four Marte sisters and their two daughters have such distinct stories and voices that each chapter feels like a story of its own, yet they are interconnected so beautifully to create a complex and wonderful narrative of mothers and daughters, sisters and aunts and nieces, and the ways women love and care for one another across distance, time, and other, more internal barriers. Their magic, both individual and collective, fills this story in more ways than one. I know I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
