Book Group: Paper Wife Post #2
I was not impressed with the content nor the writing style through the remainder of the book. It was extremely predictable, and as a book that set me to expect an exploration of a coming of age during political turmoil – simple relating that a friend was going crazy because they were drafted, really fell short. Possibly the whole dive into selling children into prostitution out of Mexico with the help of some Cuban mercenaries was a political foray, but I was not convinced. It seems as though multiple story lines were thrown together to shock and amaze the reader without any really character development or commentary. We know selling children is bad – we know back alley procedures are bad – present me with something to think about, give me some new information.
I also was left dry on the what reviewers called evocative descriptions of Mexico. I’ve been there and think I could have done a far better job calling to mind the small villages, streets, sights and sounds.
This just proves that the next book a choose to read will have more thought to it than – “Hey this is on my best friend’s floor and he bought it at Goodwill – I’ll give it a try….”
My biggest peeve about this book – it ends with a letter from Lily’s Grandmother Zozzie to her being left in a hotel during the frenzied flight away from a murdered Cuban mercenary and it is never mentioned again. Why mention something to never mention it again? Sure – it could be a sign of the young girl growing up and away from her roots and family (but she was never shown to be close to them), it can be a final kiss goodbye to the life she had before, but the ending pretty much makes that clear without this letter. It’s similar to a poorly written show being canceled before the last episode – sure you can pretty much figure out what might have happened, but it still gnaws at you!
After reading reviews on Amazon that thought the ending was breathtaking and inspiring – I guess I just can’t be inspired by a character who had an abortion, is now travelling with an orphan from a sex ring in a country where she does not speak the language, has no job and may wind up as another character earlier described “doing things with men for money” – or hunted by the very people she used to work for – all while the child she travels with begs on the streets for money.
