Afterlife

 

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

Fiction

2020 Recorded Books

Read by Alma Cuervo

Finished on April 17, 2021

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves—lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack—but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words.

Afterlife is a compact, nimble, and sharply droll novel. Set in this political moment of tribalism and distrust, it asks: What do we owe those in crisis in our families, including—maybe especially—members of our human family? How do we live in a broken world without losing faith in one another or ourselves? And how do we stay true to those glorious souls we have lost?

While browsing through a list of audiobooks offered by Libro.fm, I came across Julia Alvarez's name, which I recognized as the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. I haven't read that particular novel or any others by Alvarez, but this one sounded promising so I decided to give it a try. It's a slim book (only 272 pages) and the audio is not quite 6 1/2 hours in length, so it's a fairly quick read. 

I enjoyed Antonia's story as she learns to live with the loss of her husband and the unpredictability of her grief during the past year. I also liked the storyline about Mario and his pregnant girlfriend Estella, who comes into Antonia's life unexpectedly. I would have preferred that this thread be the main focus of the novel and eliminate the other part, which involves Antonia's three sisters. I didn't care for the long, drawn out drama of their relationships with one another and thought the sisters were indistinguishable from each another. I grew annoyed and impatient to return to Mario and Estella's story, but kept listening, as Alma Cuervo is an excellent reader; her accent smooth and melodious.

I didn't fall in love with this book, but there are parts that I enjoyed greatly. So much so that I'm tempted to get a copy of the book at the library in order to read some of those passages a second time. 

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm.

Looking Back - Bless Me, Ultima

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Fiction
1972 TQS Publications
Finished on February 10, 1997
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Stories filled with wonder and the haunting beauty of his culture have helped make Rudolfo Anaya the father of Chicano literature in English, and his tales fairly shimmer with the lyric richness of his prose. Acclaimed in both Spanish and English, Anaya is perhaps best loved for his classic bestseller ... Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima comes to stay with his family in New Mexico. She is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic. Under her wise wing, Tony will test the bonds that tie him to his people, and discover himself in the pagan past, in his father's wisdom, and in his mother's Catholicism. And at each life turn there is Ultima, who delivered Tony into the world-and will nurture the birth of his soul.

My Original Notes (1997):

Another book assigned in my Plains Lit. Class. Very good! A story of a seven-year-old Chicano boy growing up in New Mexico around 1945. Very interesting look at the devotion of Catholicism blended with pagen mysticism. Suspenseful. Sad. Beautifully written. Lyrical. I'm ready to read more of Anaya's works, such as Tortuga and a collection of short stories. Beautiful descriptions of the llano and nature in New Mexico.

My Current Thoughts:

I remember how much I loved reading and studying this novel for my Great Plains Literature course at the university. It was my first exposure to magical realism and I was spellbound! Thumbing through my copy, I have to chuckle at all the notations and underlined passages. I was such an eager student, wanting to understand everything about this book--the symbolism, biblical imagery, and the legends and superstitions of Antonio's people. There are a lot of untranslated Spanish words and phrases, which required careful translation, but now that I have those noted in the margins, reading it a second time shouldn't be too difficult. This is definitely a book I will read again!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Teen Fiction
2012 Simon and Schuster
Finished on April 16, 2015
Rating: 4.75/5 (Outstanding!)





American Book Award Winner
Pen/Faulkner Award Winner
Stonewall Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Michael L. Printz Award Nominee
Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children’s/Young Adult
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Jugendbuch
Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (ALAN/NCTE) Nominee
Pura Belpre Award for Narrative


Publisher’s Blurb:

Dante can swim. Ari can’t. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari’s features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself. But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other—and the power of their friendship—can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.

It’s been over six months since I read this Young Adult book and I still find myself thinking about the story and characters. Benjamin Alire Saenz’s lyrical prose pulled me in from the opening pages and I was sorry to see the book come to an end. I’ve read a lot of coming-of-age novels, but this is the first that I’ve read that explores homosexual love, and Saenz handles the topic with honesty and tenderness. Saenz not only addresses themes such as sexuality, love, and family, but also hate crimes and Mexican-American identity. Set in El Paso, the dialogue between Dante and Ari, as well as that of their parents, is spot on.

Final Thoughts:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a thought-provoking and beautiful book about friendship, family, loyalty and love. I think this book will appeal to fans of The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor & Park, and I plan to buy a copy to read again and share with my granddaughter. I loved this book. Highly recommend!

Go here to read more about this book on NPR.