Olga Dies Dreaming Annotation
Author: Xochitl Gonzalez
Title: Olga Dies Dreaming
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: January 4, 2022
Number of Pages: 373 pages
Time Period: Mostly set in 2017 with letters and flashbacks from the early 2000s
Series: None
Plot Summary: Olga Dies Dreaming follows the fraught lives of Puerto Rican siblings Olga and Prieto Acevedo living in Brooklyn, NY. Olga works as a wedding planner for the wealthy elites of Brooklyn and Prieto is a U.S Congressman. Their mother, Blanca, is part of the Young Lords revolutionary group in Puerto Rico. She never cared to mother the siblings and fell out of their lives years ago, communicating only with her children in scattered and manipulative letters throughout the years. When Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico, the lives of Olga and Prieto implode as their mother comes back into their lives, carrying family and national secrets with her.
Subject Headings:
Hispanic Americans - Fiction
Mother and Child - Fiction
Family Secrets - Fiction
Political Activists - Fiction
Identity (Psychology) - Fiction
Hurricane Maria, 2017 - Fiction
Appeal:
Story Line - Olga Dies Dreaming focuses on the stark, often bleak reality of life. Literary fiction “authors tend to stay focused on real-life topics and aim to offer observant, even provocative, commentary” (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019). This is definitely true of Gonzalez’s debut, as she hits hard topics such as familial manipulation, rape, gentrification, and the exploitation of Puerto Rico. She certainly provides a window for readers on these deep and dark topics, as well as layered commentary about the politics of Puerto Rico especially after the hurricanes hit the island.
Frame/Setting - The setting of the novel is mostly Brooklyn, New York, with various specific neighborhoods and locales lovingly described within. The gentrification and change in these Brooklyn neighborhoods is an important detail throughout the entire story, which lends to the richness of the setting. Puerto Rico also features as a setting, though in less time and detail as Brooklyn. More so, Puerto Rico and the Young Lords revolutionaries feature as a framing device that defines the course of the novel as well as the lives of Olga, Prieto, and Blanca. Both of the siblings careers, that of a wedding planner for the rich and as a Congressman, are detailed framing devices throughout Olga Dies Dreaming as well. Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the fallout from these storms on Puerto Rico serve as an extremely important frame later on in the novel.
Language/Style - According to Wyatt and Saricks (2019), complex language and interesting styles are key appeals of literary fiction. Olga Dies Dreaming definitely has both, with complex and compelling language and a writing style that includes a significant amount of letters alongside the normal prose. The book also jumps between multiple perspectives including Olga, Pietro, and Olga’s boss Dick.
Tone - The tone of Olga Dies Dreaming is described on NoveList as atmospheric and moving, which I would agree with but I’d also add dark and melancholy. The story of the Acevedo siblings is certainly a moving tale of identity and love, but it definitely dips into darkness and bleakness at times. The overall tone may have a hint of love and hope shining through, but the details and events are more often than not melancholy and harsh. It’s not a book for light reading or the faint of heart.
Characterization - The characters in Olga Dies Dreaming are extremely complex, layered, and rich especially Olga, Prieto, and Blanca. As is common in literary fiction as opposed to nearly any other genre, the characters are also not entirely likable. Olga certainly starts off the novel as very abrasive and cold, not a type of protagonist that would feature in other genres. The connections between the leads and side characters are also rich, layered, and complex. There are no stereotypes or base archetypes here, everyone is unique and fully realized just like real people.
Pacing - Pacing isn’t a key appeal for literary fiction in general. These books are too layered and complex to read swiftly. Olga Dies Dreaming certainly has a slow, even at times glacial, pace as details and events are described richly and fully.
Three terms that best describe the book: Weighty, Political, Character-Driven
Relevant non-fiction works:
Relevant fiction works:
Hi Laurie,
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Gonzalez chose to write this book in epistolary format; epistolary novels are far less common than traditional prose, so to find a book that goes against formatting expectations is exciting. Was there any information, either at the beginning or end of the book or in an interview, perhaps, where Gonzalez explained this decision? I would be curious to know where the inspiration for using letters in the novel came from.
I extrapolate from the information you provided about the plot summary, subject headings, and information about the setting that perhaps some tension exists between the identities (American vs. Puerto Rican)? Is this a source of conflict in the novel, or am I inferring a conflict that does not exist?
I had not heard of the Young Lords, but it sounded as if this group might exist, and after a quick search, I found out that they were “[m]odeled and inspired after the Black Panther Party (BPP)” (Library of Congress, n.d.). They “emerged from a Puerto Rican street gang to a community-based organization involved in advocating for minority access to healthcare, education, housing, and employment” (Library of Congress, n.d.). Does Olga Dies Dreaming discuss the history of this group in the novel?
I find it interesting and puzzling that the reader gets to read from the perspective of Olga’s boss but not from Blanca unless you count the letters she writes. What were your thoughts about the multiple perspectives and who the author chose to include? Did you find that this choice added nuance to the story?
References:
Library of Congress. (n.d.). 1968: The Young Lord's organization/party. https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/young-lords-organization
Hi Lexi! At least from the copy of the book I read, there wasn't much of an explanation for the choice to use letters throughout the novel. To me, it seems like Gonzalez used the letters as the main means of communication with the siblings' mother Blanca to create distance and tension between them. Flashback scenes might not have created this same feeling. Of course, I can't be sure of the author's intent, but that seems possible at least.
DeleteThe plot does absolutely include a great deal of tension between American and Puerto Rican identities. Both of the siblings and their mother struggle with this conflict, both externally and internally throughout the entire novel. As an American Congressman, Prieto may have the hardest time throughout the novel with this struggle.
I also hadn't heard of the Young Lords before reading this novel and likewise looked them up. There is actually a huge connection to the history of the group and Olga Dies Dreaming, though some of it is fictionalized for the novel. The siblings' late father was heavily involved in the early days of the organization.
And to your last questions... honestly? I hated her boss Dick's chapters. He was clearly written to be the antagonist and a face for many of the problems in the book, such as gentrification. But I don't think we needed to be in his head. I really didn't think it added much to the book and just bored me. I knew he was awful without having to hear his awful thoughts. Olga and Prieto were both essential to the story and their perspectives were interesting and unique, even if they weren't always "good" or sympathetic characters.
Excellent annotation - Full points!
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