The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova

 

The Montoya family is an interesting group of people; their matriarch Orquidea Divina is especially interesting and different. She's quite magical, too. Appearing in Four Winds decades before as a very young woman, she created an oasis out of nothing, leaving the townspeople to whisper about her and send the sheriff out on occasion to try to get her to leave. 

However, Orquidea stayed. She never left her little oasis, where food was always plentiful, the weather was beautiful, and there was a definite other-worldliness about it. 

Now Orquidea is calling her children and grandchildren back to Four Winds because she is dying and it's time to leave each of them an inheritance. When her family arrives, they are shocked to see Orquidea is not only dying, but is slowly transforming into a tree. Questions abound!

Now it's seven years later, and two of her grandchildren and one great-grandchild have gifts that are definitely odd: Rey, Marimar, and Rhiannon all have flowers growing out of their flesh. None of them understand why or what the flowers mean. 

Soon it becomes clear something is stalking the Montoya family, and it wants to destroy them. Seeking to figure out what is killing family members, they travel to Ecuador, Orquidea's home, to discover where her story began and to uncover the truth before they are all destroyed. 

Wow. This was one heck of a great read. Magic is everywhere in this story, and toss in a circus with a mysterious connection to Orquidea and you've got quite an interesting tale of bad decisions, promises made and broken, and heartbreak that never goes away. Revenge weaves its way through Orquidea's life story, and a big theme is the damage done to children by parents who do not love or care for them. Those children grow up to inflict damage on themselves and others, because of their rage, sorrow, and unanswered questions. 

I loved the mix of legends and magic, folklore and family love and connections. The story goes back and forth between present day (7 years after Orquidea transforms) and decades before, slowly revealing her journey and the price she paid for freedom. It all culminates in a showdown between the evil that stalks the family, and the gifts Orquidea gave her grandchildren. 

If you're looking for books with magic, cultural lore and otherworldliness, you'll enjoy this very much. The cover is just gorgeous. 

Rating: 5/6 for a tale of one woman's choices that create a magic safe place for family that is threatened by an evil that seeks revenge and will stop at nothing to destroy everything. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

I've never read a Kurt Vonnegut novel before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I bought Galapagos on the recommendation of my brother. Uh...I bought it a few years ago, and it's been sitting on my bookcase. But once again, a book group spurred me on to pick it up and finally dive into a truly odd tale.

Published in 1985, Galapagos is told from the viewpoint of a ghost. Yes, a ghost. He's connected to the story through a ship that becomes, in a weird way, a modern Noah's Ark. Oh, and the story is told from a million years in the future.

It's A.D. 1986, and an apocalypse is brewing all over the world. A group of guests have gathered at the El Dorado Hotel in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. These guests are all bound for a trip to the Galapagos Islands for a spectacular cruise aboard the Bahia de Darwin. Little do they all know that in the space of a few short hours, two will be dead, one will be dying, and a new human race will come down to one man, a high school science teacher, and six indigenous young girls. Oh--and there's a woman who will give birth to a furry baby girl on the island that becomes ground zero for the new human race. 

It sounds pretty goofy, and it is-but there is a point to all of it. Vonnegut talks about the "big brains" that humans have in 1986, and how much trouble they are; humans are only concerned with food, shelter, and money. If they are successful, their brains keep them from ever thinking about life without food, money, and shelter. Being oblivious to need, they don't realize there are people in the world who don't have one, two, or all three of those things. Blinded by money and a full stomach, they just don't see the signs of impending doom as economies collapse, people riot, and those with happy trigger fingers declare war on each other and start unloading nuclear bombs. 

The story travels back and forth between 1986 and a million years into the future, when humans aren't really human anymore--rather, they've evolved back into fishy-type things that have smaller brains, fins, and hit their peak at age six. Utter nonsense, right? It was actually quite fun to read. Timing, slight adjustments in plans, and plain old dumb luck (or not) all play a part in the survival of the human race. Adapt, adjust, survive, until a shark eats you and you go into the blue wiggly after-life tube that everyone enters when they die. Is the human race even human a million years from now? What does it mean to be a human, after all?

This was definitely not at all what I usually read, but I'm glad I finally dipped my toe into the writing of Kurt Vonnegut. I will be interested in reading more of his novels. He's funny, thoughtful, pointed, and writes a story that kept me involved-even when I knew the ending (because he keeps telling it to you all throughout the book!). 

I don't think I'll ever think of Darwin quite the same again. 

Rating: 4/6 for an odd novel, for sure. But it's funny, in a very pointed way, about the obsessions we have that are really not worth much, and usually keep us from paying attention to what's really going on. I would love to discuss this novel with one of my reading friends, so I'll be nagging someone to read it soon! Interesting characters, a truly imaginative plot and plenty of moments where I laughed out loud. 

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

It took me a long time to read this novel. Not because it wasn't interesting, or well written, because it was both of those things. It was hard to read because of the subject matter. I found it to be powerful, haunting, and heartbreaking. 

Two sisters, Miranda and Lucia Bok, came to America from China with their mother after their father was killed in a car accident. Struggling to raise a young daughter and an infant (Lucia), their mother endured many tough years. Miranda and Lucia--both very smart, gifted young women. Except one day, Lucia begins to hear voices, and their lives are forever changed by mental illness. 

The story of the Bok sisters is one of love, anger, hope, anguish, and regret. Lucia's life is all over the map: she meets Yonah, marries him, and seems pretty stable for quite some time. He is the love of her life. And yet, she breaks down, and that begins the long cycle of highs and lows as she battles schizophrenia; her reluctance to take medication that will stabilize her, and her desire to live a life free from the restraints of pills. Lucia's life takes her to Ecuador, where she lives a very rural life with her partner Manny and their daughter Essy. Still yearning for Yonah (whom she leaves and divorces after an episode), she's never happy. Her relationship with Manny is always on the edge, as he struggles to keep her healthy, all the while dreaming of another woman and the life they could have had together. 

Miranda, a successful businesswoman, lives in Switzerland with her husband. She struggles so much over the years to be the strong one, and to take care of her sister. The emotional baggage between Lucia and Miranda is intense, and the guilt Miranda feels over Lucia is never ending. Their relationship is the backbone of this novel, and it's heartbreaking to read. At what point do you live your life for yourself, and stop giving it all to someone else? Culture also has a lot of impact in Miranda and Lucia's lives; so many cultures in this novel and how they see mental illness: Chinese, Ecuadorian, American, Swiss. 

This is a powerful novel about mental illness; the toll it takes on family, friends, and the person who suffers from mental illness. How to reconcile the person you knew before with the person they have become. This would make a very good book group discussion. There is a lot to this novel, and it is not something you should read quickly. Take your time with it. 

A big thank you to Penguin Books for providing a copy to review. 

Rating: 5/6 for an intense novel about two sisters and their journey through mental illness. It is a journey full of love, heartbreak, loss, grief, understanding, and acceptance. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook. 

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Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee