Book Review of The Family Izquierdo by Ruben Degollado

   

Title of the book: The Family Izquierdo 

Author: Ruben Degollado 

Publisher: W.W. Norton 

Publishing Date: 2022 

ISBN: 978-0-393-86682-7

Summary:

A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of 2022

Longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award

A masterful debut that weaves together the lives of three generations of a Mexican American family bound by love, and a curse. The tight-knit Izquierdo family is grappling with misfortunes none of them can explain. Their beloved patriarch has suffered from an emotional collapse and is dying; eldest son Gonzalo’s marriage is falling apart; daughter Dina, beleaguered by the fear that her nightmares are real, is a shut-in. When Gonzalo digs up a strange object in the backyard of the family home, the Izquierdos take it as proof that a jealous neighbor has cursed them―could this be the reason for all their troubles? As the Izquierdos face a distressing present and an uncertain future, they are sustained by the blood that binds them, a divine presence, and an abiding love for one another. Told in a series of soulful voices brimming with warmth and humor, The Family Izquierdo is a tender narrative of a family at a turning point.

Author Info:

Rubén Degollado was born in Indiana, but is from McAllen, Texas, where the majority of his family has lived for generations. His fiction has appeared in Bilingual Review/Revista Bilingüe, Beloit Fiction Journal, Gulf Coast, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Image, Relief, and the anthologies Texas Short Stories, Fantasmas and Bearing the Mystery. He has been a finalist in American Short Fiction’s annual contest, Glimmer Train’s Family Matters Contest, and Bellingham Review’s 2010 Tobias Wolff Award and has been Image journal's Artist of the Month. His first novel, THROW, is forthcoming from Slant Books.

Table of Contents:

Part One

La Tierra

Turroco

Part Two

Cruzando

Mariposa

What You Bury, What You Burn

La Milagrosa Selena

Part Three

Vecinos

It all starts with this

Maggie Magic Fingers

Part Four

Padres, Hijas

Ascension

The Virgin Dianira

Holy Weak

Return, return

The Seven Songs

Part Five

Suenos, Viajes

A Map of where I've been

Part Six

Padres, Madres

Host

Our Story Frays

Padre Nuestro

Epilogue

Family Unit 

Personal Opinion:

I definitely have some mixed feelings upon reading the "novel." There are plenty of things that I loved in this book, namely the intimacy and humanity of the family as well as the joy that grips the pages despite the curse.  I also loved the nostalgia that the characters exhibit and feeling as if I'm part of the Izquierdo family, although I share different origins than the main characters. For things I didn't enjoy, I'm sorry to say, I feel disappointed that not all of the significant family members were seen in the novel nor did they get a voice. Although I understand the whole translating and whatnot has been controversial, but I did wish that there would be a glossary or something for those who aren't able to speak Spanish. Although religion was very vital to the story, I think I do have the right to say that focus on religion doesn't make me very comfortable. There are instances of some magical realism which were pretty cool, but I also think the book conceals a lot more than it reveals and I do wonder if in the future the author can create a fuller fleshed out novel of the Izquierdo family? Because these are short stories and not a full length novel. Best way to describe it is an appetizer before the meal. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)