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A review by michellereadatrix
House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I'm reviewing a Netgalley copy of this title. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
The premise: 5 friends vow to avenge the death of one of their mothers. They don't dive off the deep end so much as they head for the Mariana Trench, metaphorically. Prayers and spells to gods, spirits, and saints abound. Also, blood and gore and mysteries from the sea.
House of Bones and Rain takes place in Puerto Rico before, during, and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria. (Maria is also the name of the mother who needs avenging.) The descriptions of PR are intimate, affectionate and scornful by turns in the way you only get when an author loves a place and knows it well. The portions depicting Hurricane Maria, and previous storms and hurricanes, are consuming and I can't imagine a reader who won't imagine what it would be like, and that's before the supernatural elements at play.
I was reminded of the line in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Does anyone know where the love of God goes with the waves turn the minutes to hours? While not the same, when the storm is raging it must seem to rage an eternity.
The story wouldn't be the same if it were set in another time or place and a good portion of the book is in the time when the island is almost thrust back to the 19th century and plans have to be changes and altered accordingly.
We primarily follow Gabe, and by far he is the most prominent POV character, with only a few chapters proving an exception. He is loyal to his friends and determined to help his friend, Bimbo, and help avenge her murder not just for Bimbo's sake, but for the sake of the kindnesses she did for him in the wake of the loss of Gabe's father.
The rest of the group is, of course, Bimbo, Xavier, Paul, and Tavo. They've always been there for one another, but they have no idea what they've agreed to take on, and the characters -- and by proxy the reader -- have to constantly decide and re-decide when the situation is too much for even the binds of brotherhood.
What I'm about to type is for knowledge and discussion, and not a criticism since I went into this book knowing it was about a group of men avenging a mother's death and so the macho would be off the charts and the female characters would take a backseat.
But, yeah, the female characters with only a couple exceptions aren't fleshed out and none are fully fleshed out. Well, maybe one. With the exception of one scene, Gabe's mother could have been a mop with a ponytail for all it mattered, with a particularly egregious example toward the end -- which might have been intentional. Mothers are sacred, worth burning the world down for, but you can also put them at risk and forget about them.
The whole premise is a textbook example of "fridging." A woman dies so men can have feelings and do things. In a sense, she is written for this purpose as opposed to be fully fleshed out in her own right. Other women in House of Bone and Rain exist to worry about or to worry about the guys. Occasionally someone shoots them a text.
Here's the thing, I think Gabino Iglesias is aware of most, if not all, of this. It's baked into the cake, and he writes with great insight. These men are on the macho BS, as understandable as it is, and they don't listen to the women in their lives, or speak to them honestly, or involve them. They do endanger them. And there are repercussions, as there should be.
Again, I'm not mad, because it was purposeful and tropes exist because they work, and because I'm finding my women-centered books elsewhere. I'd love to read a gender-swapped version of thus some day, though.
The story has clear supernatural elements, and religious ones, and some scifi. (The scifi aspect wasn't my favorite and just "a lot.") These elements (not you, scifi) were really thought provoking in the same way they were for me in The Devil Takes You Home. We have God, and gods, and saints, and spirits, and Orishas, and the characters pray to them in ways that are both heartfelt and bloodthirsty, which I find fascinating.
And I can't stress enough there's blood and pain and violence and death. Gabe hurts his hand on someone else's face and then does it again. He keeps injuring that hand, but I don't know that he mentioned it to anyone else, certainly never complained.
This is a very good book because the author is a very good writer. The story asks you to question what you believe and what you would do, and when you'd walk away, if ever. It asks the role of belief in your life. There are no punches pulled -- heh -- about the corrosive nature of revenge, comparing it to a drug that destroys your life while making you feel good for "a useless moment."
Highly recommended.
The premise: 5 friends vow to avenge the death of one of their mothers. They don't dive off the deep end so much as they head for the Mariana Trench, metaphorically. Prayers and spells to gods, spirits, and saints abound. Also, blood and gore and mysteries from the sea.
House of Bones and Rain takes place in Puerto Rico before, during, and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria. (Maria is also the name of the mother who needs avenging.) The descriptions of PR are intimate, affectionate and scornful by turns in the way you only get when an author loves a place and knows it well. The portions depicting Hurricane Maria, and previous storms and hurricanes, are consuming and I can't imagine a reader who won't imagine what it would be like, and that's before the supernatural elements at play.
I was reminded of the line in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Does anyone know where the love of God goes with the waves turn the minutes to hours? While not the same, when the storm is raging it must seem to rage an eternity.
The story wouldn't be the same if it were set in another time or place and a good portion of the book is in the time when the island is almost thrust back to the 19th century and plans have to be changes and altered accordingly.
We primarily follow Gabe, and by far he is the most prominent POV character, with only a few chapters proving an exception. He is loyal to his friends and determined to help his friend, Bimbo, and help avenge her murder not just for Bimbo's sake, but for the sake of the kindnesses she did for him in the wake of the loss of Gabe's father.
The rest of the group is, of course, Bimbo, Xavier, Paul, and Tavo. They've always been there for one another, but they have no idea what they've agreed to take on, and the characters -- and by proxy the reader -- have to constantly decide and re-decide when the situation is too much for even the binds of brotherhood.
What I'm about to type is for knowledge and discussion, and not a criticism since I went into this book knowing it was about a group of men avenging a mother's death and so the macho would be off the charts and the female characters would take a backseat.
But, yeah, the female characters with only a couple exceptions aren't fleshed out and none are fully fleshed out. Well, maybe one. With the exception of one scene, Gabe's mother could have been a mop with a ponytail for all it mattered, with a particularly egregious example toward the end -- which might have been intentional. Mothers are sacred, worth burning the world down for, but you can also put them at risk and forget about them.
The whole premise is a textbook example of "fridging." A woman dies so men can have feelings and do things. In a sense, she is written for this purpose as opposed to be fully fleshed out in her own right. Other women in House of Bone and Rain exist to worry about or to worry about the guys. Occasionally someone shoots them a text.
Here's the thing, I think Gabino Iglesias is aware of most, if not all, of this. It's baked into the cake, and he writes with great insight. These men are on the macho BS, as understandable as it is, and they don't listen to the women in their lives, or speak to them honestly, or involve them. They do endanger them. And there are repercussions, as there should be.
Again, I'm not mad, because it was purposeful and tropes exist because they work, and because I'm finding my women-centered books elsewhere. I'd love to read a gender-swapped version of thus some day, though.
The story has clear supernatural elements, and religious ones, and some scifi. (The scifi aspect wasn't my favorite and just "a lot.") These elements (not you, scifi) were really thought provoking in the same way they were for me in The Devil Takes You Home. We have God, and gods, and saints, and spirits, and Orishas, and the characters pray to them in ways that are both heartfelt and bloodthirsty, which I find fascinating.
And I can't stress enough there's blood and pain and violence and death. Gabe hurts his hand on someone else's face and then does it again. He keeps injuring that hand, but I don't know that he mentioned it to anyone else, certainly never complained.
This is a very good book because the author is a very good writer. The story asks you to question what you believe and what you would do, and when you'd walk away, if ever. It asks the role of belief in your life. There are no punches pulled -- heh -- about the corrosive nature of revenge, comparing it to a drug that destroys your life while making you feel good for "a useless moment."
Highly recommended.