Hi there! Thanks for tuning in to a book that frankly everyone should read. A combination of love story, lifestyle, and political commentary, this novel is by far my next pick for a Hulu series (which I just found out is already happening).
So, looking at Olga as an outsider was a learning experience. I had no idea how the Puerto Rican populace felt about the USA's presence in their country. And that's key - it is THEIR country, indeed, at the end of the day. And anything the USA might offer them isn't worth sacrificing their country's independence, many would say. This book educated the shit out of me, honestly. I learned that there are multiple groups of political rebels who live in Puerto Rico, who fight off the US government's control of their lands as much as possible. I learned that families sometimes lose parents who go on to become freedom fighters and sacrifice their lives for the country they love so dearly.
The rest of the novel mostly confronts Puerto Rican family culture and criticizes the machismo mentality many Puerto Ricans seem to condone. That and the typical casual racism of white people, which is, clearly, still an issue many individuals deal with DAILY. The Puerto Rican populace in New York is large and well-known as a larger presence in the Bronx. The hurricane that devastates Puerto Rico, Maria, is the main focus of this novel, and the "benevolent colonialism" that seems to infect that country almost immediately.
Olga and Pedro, her brother, at the same time, are dealing with their sexuality and romantic lives at the same time as trying to be successful and then at the same time attempt to use their power and sway, one as a politician and one as a wedding planning celebrity, to protect Puerto Rican citizens and show the world how the Puerto Rican country needs help, but not the kind of help that white USA wants to give it.
Please read this book, it was impressive and believable, and beyond that, it was meaningful and a wonderful piece of fiction that brings to light the nonfiction troubles many citizens of Puerto Rico, and immigrants, experience.
-Much love,
Brieanna
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