Bleak, but powerfully written, The Five Wounds follows a broken family through some harrowing difficulties over the course of a year in New Mexico. ItBleak, but powerfully written, The Five Wounds follows a broken family through some harrowing difficulties over the course of a year in New Mexico. It includes a literal crucifixion and a birth and tends to generate some real sympathy for its characters. As messed up as they are, we root for Angel and her dad to overcome their many character flaws and build something out of the mess of their lives.
The Pulitzer has never gone to a Latina, will this be the year? In fact, the only Latinos that ever won were Oscar Hijuelos in 1990 for Mambo Kings and Junot Diaz in 2008 for Oscar Wao, so perhaps a Mexicana-American debut novel would be a fantastic choice?
The writing is pretty good throughout. Here's a sample: "This is death, then: a brief spot of light on earth extinguished, a rippling point of energy swept clear. A kiss, a song, the warm circle of a stranger's arms--these things and others--the whole crush of memory and hope, the constant babble of the mind, everything that composes a person- gone." (p. 285)
I don't think this one will win the '22 Pulitzer, but given recent trends, I would not be surprised if it was a runner-up. I actually wouldn't mind it winning, but it is a long shot. What do other folks think, could Quade be the first Latina laureate?...more
Another wonderful tale from North Dakota touching on some characters we cross in other Erdrich novels (The Round House, The Night WatchmanThe Plague oAnother wonderful tale from North Dakota touching on some characters we cross in other Erdrich novels (The Round House, The Night WatchmanThe Plague of Doves...). I love her writing and the story here of trying to earn or buy forgiveness is a strong and poignant one. How do you apologize for killing your neighbor's son? How do you redeem a wasted life? How do you escape your destiny? These questions are all central to the narrative as Erdrich blends Amerindian legend with excellent prose to tell a compelling story as usual. ...more
Pretty disappointed with this one. I don't know if it was using present tense which annoyed me or the flat characters of Shakespeare's wife or perhapsPretty disappointed with this one. I don't know if it was using present tense which annoyed me or the flat characters of Shakespeare's wife or perhaps the fact that his name is never mentioned, but I just could not engage with the characters. There were some interesting ideas like the path of the plague-ridden flea, but the story just wasn't that interesting. I guess people love these historical reconstructions, but like for Wolf Hall, I just could not adhere to this story. Maybe you'll have better luck, but honestly, read Shakespeare himself rather than a pseudo-recreation of his life. I think another annoyance was portraying him in a relatively negative light. Maybe a tad to woke for this bloke (who is a feminist nonetheless.)...more
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