BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of the Volcano Daughters, by Gina María Balibrera, from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Even though this book wasn’t for me, and I didn’t make it past the first 58 pages of the ebook*, I’m still giving it 3 stars because it’s extremely well-written and obviously very powerful.

I know that’s not what I normally do, but it just feels right this time.

In case you’re curious, it wasn’t for me in part because of the time frames, and in part because of the use of what I think of as Spanglish (lots of intermixing of Spanish and English). I speak very rudimentary and basic Spanish—can barely remember what I learned in high school and college. So either I was just going to have to miss a lot of inferences or hope I was getting things right in context or stop every 32 seconds and look things up. Nope, not this time. Also, the writer was very frank/direct about the human body, and something about that style put me off.

It’s a shame, because I really wanted to truly like it (esp because Brit Bennett blurbed it, and I was blown away by The Vanishing Half), not just appreciate it for being an important work.

*The First 58 Pages*
As I’ve mentioned before, I used to think one had to read every book cover to cover, no exceptions. This, as one might imagine, led to some pretty unpleasant reading experiences. Then one day my friend F shared her rule of thumb, which was that if she wasn’t really into the book by the time she reached the page number of her current age, she would put it down and walk away. That is what I have done ever since then, and man has it made a difference.

DESCRIPTION
A searingly original debut about two sisters and their flight from genocide—which takes them from Hollywood to Paris to San Francisco’s Cannery Row—each haunted along the way by the ghosts of their murdered friends, who are not yet done telling their stories

“A gripping and spellbinding novel about a sisterhood ripped apart by violence, narrated by a ghostly chorus. An unforgettable debut.”
—Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half

El Salvador, 1923. Graciela, a young girl growing up on a volcano in a community of Indigenous women, is summoned to the capital, where she is claimed as an oracle for a rising dictator. There she meets Consuelo, the sister she has never known, who was stolen from their home before Graciela was born. The two spend years under the cruel El Gran Pendejo’s regime, unwillingly helping his reign of terror, until genocide strikes the community from which they hail. Each believing the other to be dead, they escape, fleeing across the globe, reinventing themselves until fate ultimately brings them back together in the most unlikely of ways…

Endlessly surprising, vividly imaginative, bursting with lush life, The Volcano Daughters charts a new history and mythology of El Salvador, fiercely bringing forth voices that have been calling out for generations.

A saucy, searingly original debut about two sisters raised in the shadow of El Salvador’s brutal dictator, El Gran Pendejo, and their flight from genocide, which takes them from Hollywood to Paris to cannery row, each followed by a chorus of furies, the ghosts of their murdered friends, who aren’t yet done telling their stories.

This was really well-written and well researched. I felt like I was back there with the sisters and going through their trauma. Well done!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
No Spoilers
DNF 10%

I could not finish this book to save my life and that is on me and noting about the content or the author. I read the premise and was immediately interested by it. The cover as well really caught my attention but as soon as I started it, I knew tat this book wasn't for me. While the synopsis captured my attention, nothing in the opening pages kept me interested. Which almost makes me feel like a publishing agent saying that (as it's what I often hear from agents myself). The opening chapter was really good and made me keep going but the following chapters didn't spark more interest unfortunately. I think if I kept reading I could have been very enticed by this book but I don't want to force myself to read it and then end up hating it.

An interesting but confusing story of two sisters negotiating two cultures while trying to find their way back to each other.

The narrative voice was just not it for me. I really loved the concept of following multiple generations of stolen women known as the Volcano Daughters. A lot of the story is told through the narrative voice of the wind, which refers to each of the daughters we follow and appears to be multiple of them talking about the others? It was a little unclear to me. I did love the bilingual aspect of the book, where specific words in Spanish/Nahuatl that do not have a good English equivalent; however, there was no footnote translating it to the common reader. This made the reading experience pretty clunky, there are a few places where from context or English descriptions you can kind of guess the translation. The clumsiness of having to independently google the words and figure out what language it was in was enough of a hinderance where I didn't want to casually read this book.

Overall, I really liked the concept and that it doesn't shy away from using the natural polylingual nature of the Author/Narrator but there wasn't an on-page translation which brought me out of the story. This could very easily be that it was an ARC copy and will have on-page translation when the final copy comes out. If that is the case, then there are some gorgeous descriptions of the Nahuatl culture and heartbreaking prose about family separation.

Loved this magical realism saga like novel. Very well written and characters full of life, and stories.

Given the current climate, The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera is a must-read novel. Without saying what the girls and women in this novel are going through, it's obvious a genocide is taking place and the reader is thrust into the world that led up to it and the ramifications of what people experiencing a genocide go through as they flee to other lands and must continue to live their lives.

The novel is a poignant story that follows two sisters who lived extremely different childhoods, one wealthy and pampered but alone, the other in a community surrounded their mother, aunts, and cousins in a colonial system. Their two paths converge when Gabriela is brought to the capitol after her father's death, and she's essentially kidnapped and forced to be an "oracle" for a mad General who is plunging his country into chaos. The novel has many themes of loss, and unknown endings.

The author I think did a great job at describing the slow but also quick ascendancy into a genocide. People turn the other cheek as long as their family is safe, they participate if it means they are not the ones to die today, and others who voice their vociferous opposition disappear. The book was heartbreaking, and even more so when you think about how the books events are based on a real genocide. It impacted me personally, as I have met someone whose wife was from South America and testified in Congress regarding the massacres they'd lived through and experienced, Congress did nothing, and even years later the pain was apparent of what they'd lived through. More recently a family friend from Honduras had multiple brothers executed and had to flee to the U.S. What happened then is happening now, and this book provides a firsthand experience of two survivors and the horrors they lived through.

I really hope that this book gets all the publicity and attention it deserves. The destabilization of many countries in South America was contributed to if not caused by the U.S., and in the various coups and power changes the regular people who are caught up in it are lost in so many of the discourses. I highly recommend this author's debut novel. The subject matter is tough, it can be a hard read, but overall the persistence of these women despite the horrors they experience rounds the novel out.

Please be advised that I received an Advance Readers Copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first third of the novel was very slow for me...too much time on setting up the characters and setting. The second two-thirds was much better, although I found the chorus of slaughtered women unnecessary. The message would have been better conveyed directly, through the characters' actions. Not one male character had any redeeming value. I was disappointed.

I'm sorry but.....this was SO bad 😅
As part Salvadorian, I was excited to pick this up. I was promised history and mythology and I was excited to learn more about the civil war that drove my grandparents from their country. But....this was a huge let down.
They barely mentioned any mythology at all, this wasn't at all a fantasy story. Yes, there were 4 dead girls making commentary on the two sister's life's saying "Listen to us, listen to us" but they didn't have much interesting things to say.
Pretty much all the characters, besides Garciela, were vulgar, crude, and sex crazy. Consuelo was such an immature brat and all she thought about was sleeping with men and "making art" which she'd get mad nobody appreciated. Even after being raped she just jumped from one man to another.
Neither of the sisters had any real love life.
I got no insight on actual politics and genocides that occurred in El Salvador during those times besides the one the sisters lived through.
None of them, again besides Graciela, were good mothers either. Their mother tried but was put down by those with more power than she. Graciela's story seemed to have a little more plot but Consuelo was just background noise. Honestly the entire novel seemed to have no true plotline.
The ghosts didn't seem to make a point except maybe, native American history matters too? But they didn't actually tell those stories. The girls just left and worked and slept around, not much plot there either.
Very disappointed 😞
Not the "imaginative and bursting with lush life" I had expected.
Hope to one day read a historical fiction book based on El Salvador that really shows me what life was like there in those times.

The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera is a powerful and evocative novel that masterfully intertwines themes of family, heritage, and resilience against a vibrant and tumultuous backdrop. Balibrera's storytelling is both poetic and visceral, drawing readers into the lives of her richly developed characters.

Set against the dramatic landscapes of a volcanic region, the story follows the journeys of several women, each grappling with their personal and familial histories. Balibrera's prose is beautifully descriptive, bringing the setting to life and imbuing it with a sense of almost mystical significance. The volcanic imagery serves as a potent metaphor for the characters' inner turmoils and the explosive nature of their secrets and desires.

The characters are compelling and deeply human, each with their own distinct voice and struggles. Balibrera handles their stories with a deft hand, weaving their narratives together in a way that feels both natural and profoundly interconnected. The emotional depth of the novel is striking, and readers will find themselves invested in the characters' fates.

While the novel's pacing can occasionally be uneven, with some parts feeling slower than others, the overall impact of the story is undeniably strong. Balibrera's ability to capture the essence of cultural and generational conflicts adds a rich layer of complexity to the narrative.

The Volcano Daughters is a poignant and beautifully written novel that will resonate with readers long after the final page. Gina María Balibrera has crafted a memorable and moving tale that celebrates the strength and resilience of women in the face of adversity.

The Volcano Daughters is a well written, dense narrative that follows the separate lives of two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, who manage to escape from a dangerous, crushing dictator in El Salvador in the early 1930s.

The story moves nonlinearly through tumultuous times in both their native country and elsewhere. The author combines cultural traditions and storytelling, magical realism, and real historical events to weave a fascinating story. The prologue of this story was at first confusing to me because I did not know what was to come, but it is beautiful, and I’m glad that I kept reading.

Some of the voices telling the stories of Graciela and Consuelo are fantasmas, or what we’d usually call spirits or ghosts. In this way, the sisters’ memories, friends, and family stay with them, in their hearts.

Gina Maria Balibrera has written a memorable and special saga that I am grateful to have read. Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon,Vintage and Anchor for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

This was one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read in a while. The integration of Central American Spanish into the lyrical English prose was done so well, this book felt like I was reading poetry. I truly felt transported. I felt so deeply for the women and girls of this book, I really enjoyed following their stories. The only thing keeping this from being a 5 star is there were a few moments that I was a bit confused, mainly with some of the character names. I think upon reread or even with annotating this could easily be a 5 star.

I decided to read this book as I lived in Central America for two years and learned a lot about the civil war and colonialism from la gente. This was my favorite book so far this year. It blended Central American folklore like el duende and el cadejo with serious events that took place in El Salvador. This book also blended English with Central American Spanish, which was fantastic. The book took me right to Central America, under the volcano. The familial connection, the spirits used as narrators, and the cultural tie-ins made this an incredible historical fiction. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I did want to add, due to the subject matter, there was a lot of violence in this book. I could tag a huge list of trigger warnings, but it basically has all of them. Just as heads up.

El Salvador, 1923. Graciela, a young girl growing up on a volcano in a community of Indigenous women, is summoned to the capital, where she is claimed as an oracle for a rising dictator. There she meets Consuelo, the sister she has never known, who was stolen from their home before Graciela was born. The two spend years under the cruel El Gran Pendejo’s regime, unwillingly helping his reign of terror, until genocide strikes the community from which they hail. Each believing the other to be dead, they escape, fleeing across the globe, reinventing themselves until fate ultimately brings them back together in the most unlikely of ways…

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow. Just wow. Beautiful prose. Heart-wrenching and heartwarming. The unbelievably horrible things humans can do to each other, juxtaposed with the incredible love and amazing things we can do to lift each other up. This is a true gem!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

A beautifully written, compelling, and stylish work of historical fiction tinged with the speculative about sisters during a time of social and political upheaval in El Salvador and beyond. I'm not sure about how well the first-person plural was integrated into the text, but I appreciate the ambition of that craft choice.

Consuelo and Graciela’s story is one that will haunt me for quite some time. Make no mistake, this is a hard-hitting book with heavy themes, and, at times, I had to sit the book down, but I am so glad I was able to read this beautiful, heartrending novel. Really, this book comes with my highest recommendation because it has the making of a modern classic.

Review of Uncorrected eBook File

When El Salvador’s dictator brings Graciela to the capital in 1923, she discovers a sister she never knew. Consuelo, it seems, was stolen from her home before Graciela was even born. For two years, the sisters are forced to assist the cruel regime of El Gran Pendejo.


Then an act of genocide destroys their home. Who survives? And what happens to the two sisters?

=======

The story, cruel, heartbreaking, and somehow still inspiring, introduces readers to Lourdes, Maria, Cora, and Lucia . . . the ghostly chorus in the telling of this tale. Strong world-building and diverse, delightful characters bring the story to life. Lush and poetic, the Spanish woven throughout the narrative is faithful to the setting, but readers who are not conversant in Spanish may find themselves taken out of the story, wondering exactly what that particular Spanish phrase meant. [Perhaps a footnote or a glossary at the end would aid readers who want to understand the full context of the narrative.]

Readers who enjoy their historical fiction with a bit of magic tossed in for good measure are sure to find much to appreciate in this tale of sisterhood, survival, and friendship. But readers should be warned about the overuse of a particularly offensive expletive; this lowers the rating for this book.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor / Pantheon and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#TheVolcanoDaughters #NetGalley

Sisters reunited in a torn up world and then the beauty of teaming up to live a better life and find the beauty in a scary heartbreaking situation. I really wanted to love this book and I did but sometimes I felt kind of confused by it I think I will reread it. I can’t wait for this to come out because the cover is gorgeous and I know my mom would love this

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoyed the way this was narrated - it's one of the more unique perspectives I've read. There were many times when I needed to translate certain words, but I didn't mind. A historical fiction should have something to teach you, and this did. Most of what happens in these characters lives is utterly devastating, which makes for a hard but necessary read.

This is the book that I really wanted to like, but it just wasn’t the type of book that I typically read. For me it was just not a book that I would recommend.