Kali Fajardo-Anstine just has such a beautiful way with words, I’ve been sucked into each and every sentence she writes. Woman of Light is historical fiction set mostly in 1930s Denver, and focuses on an indigenous Chicano family and its generations. Luz, the main character, is a tea leaf reader, gifted with the sight that has helped her female ancestors over the years survive hardship and suffering. Fajardo-Anstine draws such a compelling portrait of this time and place - I had to stop every so often while reading to look up photos of Chicanos from the 1930s, and photos of 1930s Denver, to help ground me even more in the story. You can really tell the author put her heart and soul into this one, and that’s saying something because her debut collection, Sabrina and Corina, was a feat in and of itself. I couldn’t wait to finish….but I also wished while reading that there were 300 more pages of this story. Books like this one are always my favorites - the ones you can’t put down but also you never want to end.

Thank you @oneworldpublications and @netgalley for the E-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book is now out in hardcover paperback!



…🫣 Don’t come for me, booksta but I didn’t like this book. But, let’s start with what worked:



What Worked:

🌄 The Setting: I haven’t read historical fiction that takes place solely in Colorado. It spanned from the late 1800s into the 1930s.

🌄 The Descriptions: Fajardo-Anstine is a skilled writer. Her prose throughout the book was beautiful.



And now for What Didn’t Work:

🌄 The Plot: This was a coming of age story, so I knew it’d lean more character driven than plot driven, but still there was NO plot. The characters were just meandering around and the ending just…happened. I was left questioning what the point of the story was.

🌄 Multigenerational Storyline: I either wanted more of the main character’s ancestors’ storylines or none of them at all. As the reader, I only got a taste of them and it wasn’t satisfying or helpful with the character development.

🌄 The Romance: Both male love interests were mediocre and under developed. They didn’t work for me at all.

I know this book has a lot of rave reviews on @goodreads, so maybe I’m in the minority. It also could be a “right book, wrong time” situation because I was craving a fast paced book and this one was ssssllllooooowwww. All of that to say, it wasn’t for me, but you might love it!

This is a beautifully written novel but I felt it was missing cohesiveness. The characters are well developed and memorable, the setting clear and there are some vivid and unforgettable scenes. I found the structure of moving back and forth in time to sometimes be disruptive or unnatural, interrupting the flow. The character choices (particularly the motivations of Luz) are also hard to understand. Overall, I felt like the novel lacked clarity and the plot didn't have enough to tie it all together.

This was an amazing book. It takes the reader through the lives of different women in the same family but at different points in history. I loved how you can see the different struggles of each woman and how decisions they made affected the future of not only their lives but also the lives of the other women. The ending felt a tiny unfinished so maybe that means a second book? Fingers crossed. Would love to revisit with these characters, as well as new ones connected with this family’s story.

Such a wonderful story. I just loved the history. A bit confusing and the family trees helped me identify who came where in the story. I would have loved more tea reading, more magic, more of the great-grandmother. But, I did like Marie Josie, Luz and Lizette-powerful women in their own right.

I'm on the fence on this book the storyline was hard for me to get into, but I really did enjoy it once I did get into it. Luz is a tea leaf reader and her older brother had to leave their house and she's living with her Aunt. All of this is set up in the 1930's in Denver and goes into the issues that Luz and her family has to deal with on a daily basis. It definitely speaks about what they have to do to survive, family and wanting to be loved.

As I mentioned I did have an issue of getting into the storyline, but once I did I loved it. It was a beautifully written story and told in a magical way.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy

I did not end up reading this novel. The rating is not a reflection of the story itself, but rather an indication that other books/stories dominated my interest and reading time. Which I think is an important factor when selecting your next read.

Excellent -- I only wish it was longer to expand on the characters and their stories. Easily a top book of the year for me.

An epic story with bold women as the background. An engrossing story told across generations. I really liked it.

Thinking perhaps the time was not right for Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s WOMAN OF LIGHT and me. The dream like quality of this book left me sleepy, detached.
The few pages that reeled me in were not enough to keep me invested.
The plot intrigued me, the story left me feeling cheated.
Perhaps another time, another day I can connect with this story but for right now it left me feeling like I skimmed through most of it.

National Book Award finalist and author of the best-selling short story collection Sabrina and Corina returns with a new fiction book. In a story spanning five generations of Coloradans, we see how the land changes and how stories can be lost to time. It takes a brave woman to remember for future generations.

It starts with an orphan in the forgotten territory. An Indigenous baby is abandoned, and an old woman finds it and raises it as her own. At ten, he must set out for the city and his future. Fast forward to Paz. She works at the carnival and can tell your future. It is not just a vague future but a highly detailed one that can reveal horrors. When her brother dates a white woman, he is severely beaten and must leave for the Lost TErritory. Paz also has to leave and find a job in Denver for a layer. The lawyer is the defender of the broken down and poor. But does he fight for them or only for himself?

Stories of the West are too often from a single perspective. It isn't focused on the people who already populated Colorado before settlers came. Fajardo-Anstine tells the story of the people here and those pushed to the sidelines by white settlers. They make up the west and Colorado too.

I loved going through the generations of this family. As Mexican-Americans in the early 1900s Wild West, they have many forces going against them (the Depression, the KKK and racism, white settlers and segregation, the past) but the never lose the importance of family. Heartbreaking at times, this book highlights not only the power of love over hate, but the power of women in times of hardship.

The author does switch back and forth in times which can sometimes be confusing, but I found she did it well. I was able slowly see how the past stories were influencing the present. She shows how the past is more influential then we realize in our present and future lives.

I could easily picture the settings and characters, engrossing me in the book and story.

This story told across generations of a family really tugs at the heart strings. I feel in love with the characters and was totally engrossed, I did not want to leave the family behind as the story came to an end. I would have loved to have a whole novel on just the grandparent's storyline.

Clairvoyant and mystical. Sharp and full of wonder with an incredible narrative. There is a richness in history that should not be overlooked.

Ok I have tried to get through this book 3 times now. It starts off well enough, but then it loses my attention. I feel like there is a lull in the first 3rd of the book that if I can get past I will like the story, maybe? I think in part it's the charecters and place names, maybe it's my complete ignorance of the history and place of reference. Which is frankly my issue. I will come back to this, mainly iut of stubbornness because I want to like it.

A very likeable story! The focus of the strength of women and their gifts. How they withstood prejudice. I enjoyed the read and the depiction of Colorado. I would definitely recommend this book!

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. While I usually don't like books with intertwined timelines, this one however really worked since it explained the story of the family fully. I do wish there was a bit more to the ending. I felt that it ended rather quickly.

This multigenerational story of an Indigenous-Chicano family started out in the 1880s when an abandoned baby is found and raised by a family in the West. It quickly moves to Colorado in the 1930s where we follow the lives of Luz (Little Light), who is a tea leaf reader, laundress (with her cousin Lizette), and her brother Diego, a snake charmer, who live with their gay Aunt Maria-Josie.
The author described their lives and made the characters colorful and interesting, and brings into play the prejudices, racism and injustices brought against them - all parts of Colorado history that I was unaware of.
The author alternates the 1930s story with glimpses of the earlier generation's story but I found that to be confusing as I was following the story with the characters that were coping with various issues, when suddenly, I'm back in the 1800s picking up something completely unrelated to the latter day story. For me, I thought that there was a lot of backstory missing which would have enriched the latter day events and characters.
I felt that the romance was contrived and not in keeping with the overall feel of the book. The book ended abruptly, and it was rushed- I wanted a little more follow up.
I received an eARC of Woman of Light from NetGalley and Random House and the opinions are my own.

I think this was a good read, but it was not for me. The plot was my downfall and I couldn't get into it all the way. The characters are well written and I liked the synopsis of the story. I think others will definitely enjoy resdimg this book

This has everything I want from a multigenerational story. Powerful, dynamic matriarchs, sumptuous writing, and a most delectable touch of magic.

I’m kicking myself for not finishing this sooner, but I’m also extremely thankful I waited for just the right moment in my life to fully immerse myself in this story. It is a mesmerizing account on finding oneself, on knowing oneself, and a sharp reflection on the stories that shape us, and our knowledge of them (or lack thereof) as we move through our own chapters in our family histories. And it is undeniable that this novel’s roots in Indigenous Chicano history is what gives it its clarity of voice.

The characters are exceptionally compelling (though, like many, I too am not entirely convinced by Luz’s characterization/arc) and the prose is something I want to drown in.