Olga Dies Dreaming

Reviews

The author cloaks her polemic in page-turning prose. This deeply satisfying and nuanced novel shines a light on political corruption and the limits of capitalism. It's also a study of the psychological fallout of poor parenting and a tender exploration of love in its many forms There's so much to enjoy in this busy, Brooklyn-set debut centred on a pair of middle-aged Latino siblings leading double lives . . . Gonzalez couples engrossing political intrigue with engagingly flawed characters you can't help but root for A powerful, intra-cultural reckoning with the very notions of sacrifice and survival The extraordinary accomplishment of Olga Dies Dreaming is in how a familiar-enough tale - a woman seeking love, happiness, and fulfillment in the big city - slowly reveals itself to be something else altogether. It's a book about a New York that isn't always celebrated, the one that belongs to immigrant communities; about money, class, and political power; about one vividly-imagined family and the very idea of the American Dream Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of an imperfect family shattered by secrets, grief, and abandonment, and of people who rise up, refusing to be broken. Smart, witty, and driven, Gonzalez's Olga hustles, stumbles, falls, and eventually finds her way. An unflinching examination of capitalism, corruption, gentrification, colonialism, and their effects on marginalized people, Olga Dies Dreaming is a poignant, scalding debut Wisdom, tenderness, and abundant humor . . . I will think about its richly drawn, deeply human characters for a very long time Gonzalez's stinging and knowledgeable commentary about the American sociopolitical order that keeps Black and brown people poor and powerless suggests that radical remedies are called for, even if she gives the personal dramas of her appealing main characters pleasingly hopeful final acts. Atmospheric, intelligent and well informed: an impressive debut Irresistibly warm yet entirely uncompromising Don't underestimate this new novelist. She's jump-starting the year with a smart romantic comedy that lures us in with laughter and keeps us hooked with a fantastically engaging story Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a healthy dose of tough love with her buzzy debut Atmospheric Olga is flawed and fallible, but gains in self-knowledge and integrity as she's buffeted by hurricane-force plot developments . . . [a] rich, full-bodied saga Compelling . . . Gonzalez' debut speaks thoughtfully to the complicated and introspective diasporic experience, all while looking at how power structures can change a community, and the mixed feelings of pride and guilt that can come along with moving into a gentrified neighbourhood When you start reading Olga Dies Dreaming, you might think it is the Puerto Rican version of Crazy Rich Asians - but don't be fooled. While the expectations and manners of the rich are dissected in similar detail, class politics is front and centre . . . The writing is cinematic - a TV pilot is already being made in the US - it's packed with vivid vignettes of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and the characters have real warmth and depth. You get both romantic and family relationships, together with the politics of what it is to be Latinx in a world where rich white people have the power The story's driving tension derives from questions of how to break free: from a mother's manipulations, from shame, from pride indistinguishable from fear, from the traumatic burden of abandonment, from colonial oppression, from corrosive greed A beautiful force . . . Not your average story of two people looking for love. It is that, yes, but with political intrigue, social commentary, revolutionaries and mobsters, it is so much more Olga Dies Dreaming proves the truth of that oft-quoted aphorism, "the personal is political." Packed with richly imagined characters and vivacious prose, the novel asks how we can live meaningful lives in a world rife with inequality. Expand reviews