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Signs Preceding the End of the World
Aug. 2nd, 2018 11:32 amThis short novel by Yuri Herrera was the last book on my Bibliotherapy prescription back in December 2016. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to read it, especially since it's so short.
It tells the story of a young Mexican woman, who travels across to the 'world of the anglos' in search of her brother, who left some time before. In style, it's almost 'stream of consciousness', with no dialogue punctuation, which I generally find very off-putting. However, the flow of the language here did draw me in and kept me reading despite this.
The story has many layers - there's certainly much more going on and much more being conveyed than purely the physical action taking place. The themes of cultural heritage, globalisation, language, immigration and discrimination are strong and well portrayed.
I found Makina an interesting and engaging protagonist. She is smart and knowledgeable, going into her journey with her eyes wide open, and mostly capable of taking care of herself. But she also isn't afraid to ask for help and rely on others when she needs to, and her emotional journey is just as compelling and varied as her physical one.
I'm not sure I fully understood the significance of everything in the novel, but it painted a very vivid picture of something I have no personal experience of, and I was glad to have taken the journey with Makina.
It tells the story of a young Mexican woman, who travels across to the 'world of the anglos' in search of her brother, who left some time before. In style, it's almost 'stream of consciousness', with no dialogue punctuation, which I generally find very off-putting. However, the flow of the language here did draw me in and kept me reading despite this.
The story has many layers - there's certainly much more going on and much more being conveyed than purely the physical action taking place. The themes of cultural heritage, globalisation, language, immigration and discrimination are strong and well portrayed.
I found Makina an interesting and engaging protagonist. She is smart and knowledgeable, going into her journey with her eyes wide open, and mostly capable of taking care of herself. But she also isn't afraid to ask for help and rely on others when she needs to, and her emotional journey is just as compelling and varied as her physical one.
I'm not sure I fully understood the significance of everything in the novel, but it painted a very vivid picture of something I have no personal experience of, and I was glad to have taken the journey with Makina.
