Hello, this book is amazing. It's set in 1927 so, I thought it would be boring but then there are gods, a love story, and an annoying cousin, and I was hooked.
The coolest thing about this book was getting to learn a bit about Maya mythology because I really don't know anything about it. It's much less prevalent than Greek or even Roman mythology so it was kind of a nice treat and an easy gateway into this new world that I WILL be fully diving into. Hun-Kamé and his brother Vucub-Kamé are just two of the many gods that rule over their respective domains in Xibalba. It is based on myths from the Popol Vuh which is basically the Maya book of creation myths. The brothers' quarrel resulted in this odyssey. They didn't see eye to eye about the way mortals should be worshipping them. Naturally, that means one of them cannot survive. and so Vucub-Kamé destroyed and imprisoned Hun-Kamé with the help of... Casiopea's grandfather! DUN DUN DUUUN
Okay, so the story starts out very much like a retelling of Cinderella. In the first scene, Casiopea is literally scrubbing the floor when her cousin comes up to her and orders her to go out and buy him cigarettes. Like Cinderella, she too lost her father and had to live with her rich family members who are only related to her by marriage and they really do treat her terribly while forcing her to do a bunch of chores all day and attend to her grandfather. Basically, I was preparing myself for yet another Another Cinderella Story. Luckily, the fairy godmother came in pretty early into the story and he was a naked man.
This is a love story. I am usually hesitant if not vehemently opposed to labeling a novel as a love story just because there is some romance. However, I personally believe, while the characters' motivation for moving the plot forward is normally the main through-line of the story, the romance was more important to the story than anything else. It was very subtle at the beginning and actually up until just about the end but it was definitely there and I loved it. It felt almost like a coming-of-age story for both Casiopea and Hun-Kamé. As he was taking her essence and becoming mortal, he began to feel mortal feelings like love. As she was journeying on this grand adventure, she was learning more about the world, life, herself and eventually, love.
Beautiful. Periodt.
-Yours truly,
Ceraya 💞
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