petrichorandcoffee's reviews
482 reviews

An excellent conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. I did not know how Roanhose would find a satisfying conclusion with so many compelling characters and moving pieces, but she did. My only small complaint is

I felt it took too long for Serapio to realize Balam was his father. I felt like there was a moment that was supposed to be a reveal for the reader, but it had been ovbious for a long time before that.

I'm still rating it 5 stars though because it is a wonderful book, masterfully wrapping up a beautiful, complicated story with nuanced characters. I have recommended this trilogy to many and will continue to do so.

Beautifully made book, lovely to look at and hold, and I really really like the concept of unsettling short bedtime stories for adults. I just found the rhythm of the poems to be off (aiming for a Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein feel but missing the mark because the singsong feeling was lost at a clearly attempted but unsuccessful rhythm scheme). Truly cool concept and I'm happy to have read it and to own it, I just felt like it missed the mark of what it could have been.

Truly phenomenal. Challenging and excellent work.

Incredible book. Challenging and lovely and important. The only tiny part that bugged me was there was one place where Kingsolver accidentally said Avengers instead of X-Men and it took me out of the story that was otherwise so tight and well researched. The middle bit was hard to get through because it was heavy and heartbreaking and frustrating, but well written and honest and nuanced and worth getting through. I love the ending even though it is perhaps strange. I learned things reading this about my family and history. I will recommend it to everyone.

(Note to self: the translation I read was not this one but the one by Ennis Rees.)