WOC authors – ode to shelf-care

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

little-eyes_custom-157e1e8dc69e4e47029536ab51b87740a5bfe5fb-s300-c85 Originally published in Latino Book Review magazine at latinobookreview.com

In Samanta Schweblin’s Little Eyes, people around the world are delighted by a new technology bringing anonymous online relationships to a new level. Kentukis are small stuffed animals on wheels, like a robot pet—except behind their little eyes are live-streaming webcams controlled by another person connected to the device. Across languages and regions, kentuki “keepers” and “dwellers” are randomly connected when the device starts up for the first time, and people soon realize that this unique relationship is not easily navigated.

The arrival of kentukis establishes a type of hybrid being that is both gadget and human, intelligent and sentient, but with limited autonomy and ability to communicate. Schweblin’s vignettes of different pairs of kentuki users around the globe explore the full spectrum of demented outcomes when this technology is left unregulated. As kentuki users attempt to establish their ideal dynamic, whether it’s as a voyeur, a tourist in another lifestyle, a companion, a caretaker, or a star of their own reality show, the relationships devolve into obsession and emotional turmoil when issues of privacy and freedom surface.

The novel is an exploration of the artificial boundaries we perceive when we interact virtually. It is an epic thought experiment into how these anonymous actors change peoples’ concept of self-identity. The psychological highs and lows that unfold will bring readers deep into the complex lives of these thrilling devices and the power dynamics that users must negotiate.

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July 7, 2020July 9, 2020 by Sam Olvera Categories: FictionTags: 2020 books, argentine literature, book review, female authors, Fiction, global literature, kentuki, little eyes, novel, samanta schweblin, technology, WOC authors Leave a comment

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor

31XkWuncUYL *Originally published in Latino Book Review at latinobookreview.com*

Fernanda Melchor’s debut English-translated novel is a haunting masterpiece reminding us that there are no winners when it comes to intolerance. In a rural Mexican village marked by misogyny, addiction, machismo, and homophobia, the Witch is a lifeline for the local women and the target of violence by men who are threatened by her audacity to live outside of their sphere of power. As the second-generation resident witch, she knows she is safest only on the fringes of society. When she is violently murdered and tossed in the irrigation canal, the twisted events leading up to her death and the ugly aftermath reveal how deeply her existence was intertwined in the dysfunctional community relationships.

Through the unfiltered, rambling consciousness of her troubled characters, Melchor reveals the depths of human greed and the desperate actions it drives us to commit. In this place dominated by poverty and violence, the only redemption is the persisting memory of the Witch of La Matosa, a tormented woman who recognized a shared pain among her comrades and had the inexplicable compassion to heal others despite her own suffering. The Witch is both everywhere and nowhere in our society. She is the queer outcast who never got to tell her own story. She is the living fantasy and greatest fear for those oppressed by the patriarchy. She is like so many victims of femicide in Mexico for whom there is no justice.

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July 5, 2020July 6, 2020 by Sam Olvera Categories: Fiction, UncategorizedTags: book review, books, femicide, fernanda melchor, Fiction, homophobia, hurricane season, latina authors, latinx literature, mexican authors, mexico, novels, veracruz, witches, WOC, WOC authors Leave a comment

Hermosa by Yesika Salgado

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In the poetry collection “Hermosa”, Yesika Salgado brings forth a life in multitudes as she writes about her home of Los Angeles, lingering love, the healing power of friendship, childhood memories brought into the stark light of adulthood, complicated deaths of people who were difficult to love, the cultured gender norms in her Salvadoran family, and more. Salgado both grieves for the LA she recognizes as being deformed by gentrification while honoring her deep love for it, reveling in the anonymity of city life and her Polaroid-picture-nostalgia for its nooks and quirks.

With bright, crisp language, Salgado’s poetry is a fiery heart laid open. Each verse thrums with energy as Salgado gives space for every emotion and every detail—from heartbreak to soil tracked into the house, from long, running verses, to just a line or two that needed to be written all on their own. Salgado is a natural storyteller whose pride in all of her brilliant, flawed, and tender self truly shines through in the collection.

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…those were my favorite stories. women doing what women don’t do. I imagined all the beer I’d drink when I got older. I’d chug it down like a cold soda and burp loudly on purpose. I’d cackle big and booming. wouldn’t care when the mujeres say ¡esa nina es tremenda! instead I’d lift another beer and say ¡asi es! ¡salud!

November 30, 2019December 3, 2019 by Sam Olvera Categories: PoetryTags: book review, el salvador, female authors, feminism, gentrification, grieving, latina poetry, latinx, los angeles, love, Poetry, storytelling, WOC authors Leave a comment

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

9780593108178 After coming out as a lesbian to her religious, Puerto Rican family, Juliet leaves the Bronx for the first time to take on an internship with a celebrity-status, feminist author in Portland. She arrives in this alien city characterized by a subculture of “hippie white” both elated by the prospect of living and learning with her feminist hero and wounded by the rift her identity has created between her and her mother.

The summer continues to be an era of firsts for Juliet as she navigates heartbreak, intersectional feminism, and a queer community where notions of relationships and gender are an infinite spectrum. She experiences the pain of racism when it comes from a trusted loved one and the joy of finding women-of-color mentors and confidants. While she spends much of her time researching the lives of bold women whose stories have been nearly erased by history, she also takes on the challenge of redefining what womanhood means to her.

In this novel, Gabby Rivera beautifully renders the earnestness of Juliet’s heart—a young woman eager to love and live authentically. Outside of the confines of the women’s studies classes and feminist book that first inspired her, Juliet comes face-to-face with the hurtful reality that even the feminist community is full of well-intended individuals who are oblivious to their own privilege and supremacist outlook. Rivera explores nuanced themes of accountability and forgiveness, highlighting the importance of respecting one’s instincts and staying true to oneself above all else.

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We could set out words on these sun-drenched branches and let the breeze guide us to resolution. For a split second, I wondered if there was a price to pay for this type of peace.

“Weird is the only way to live,” she said, her faith solid.

November 30, 2019 by Sam Olvera Categories: FictionTags: book review, female authors, feminism, Fiction, Gabby Rivera, Juliet Takes a Breath, latina authors, latinx authors, latinx literature, WOC authors, YA Leave a comment