The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova - 5 stars

[Teodora]

I am spellbound by this book. Beautiful, sad, enchanting, magical, weird at times, brutal at others. From the first page to the last, this book took my breath away.

Some have compared the writing with that of Gabriel García Márquez or the earlier works of Isabel Allende, such as The House of the Spirits. The book has, no doubt, something that reminds me of both authors although the style is more modern. But there is something magical at the heart of it, something that I found only in Hispanic literature. For me, this book was a treasure, and I can only hope that others will feel the same way about it, too.

I won't waste my time writing a synopsis as anyone can read the blurb or other reviews if they want to find it. I will only say this: once taken the magic aside, this is a tale of a family held together (and at the same time pushed apart) by a powerful matriarch, of the relationships between the members, of generational trauma, of ghosts from the past that come to haunt us (sometimes, in this book, quite literally), of sins that still claim a price generations later, of a quest for a better life, a better fortune, of putting down roots (this, too, literally at times - you'll have to read the book if you want to discover what that means). It has a dual timeline, one following Orquidea's childhood and youth, the other present day, focusing on her grandchildren.

The story was absolutely beautiful and created strong feelings in me. I often had tears in my eyes and it created goosebumps on my body at times. I could feel it deep in my soul. This isn't my story; I wasn't relating to it directly. And yet, I felt such a deep empathy for Orquidea, for what she had to endure and what she had to become in order to survive. The story isn't always sad, but it often is, and there are elements of horror in it, though not gory horror (rather an atmospheric horror). In my opinion, everything was done tastefully and in a way that worked perfectly with the story.

I hope Zoraida Cordova writes more adult books. I've read some of her young-adult stuff, and although I liked it too, it felt too young for my taste and age. But this book... I've read a few good books this year, but this might just be my favorite (along with Weyward - which share a common theme).

[Booknblues]

Thanks for your great review. I've been thinking about reading this in October and your review encourages me to do so.

[Book Concierge]

This was UNlike anything I'd read before. I listened to the audiobook version, and I think I need to go back and read the text. There were parts of the book that completely captivated me.

Love your review!

[Joanne]

Great review, Teodora. I had this book on my TBR at one time but it is missing and probably got taken off when I cleaned house at one time. Your review has pushed me to put it back.