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4.0
This Is the Only Kingdom
ByPublisher Description
From the Whiting Award-winning author of Ordinary Girls, an epic portrayal of a working-class Puerto Rican family wrestling with the aftermath of a murder.
In gorgeous and striking prose, Jaquira Díaz tells a profoundly moving story of one unforgettable family. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Maricarmen works hard, getting good grades, and cleaning houses after school. She dreams of becoming a singer. When she meets Rey, a young Black musician, she falls in love with his dynamism and his voice. But when her mother discovers their relationship, the course of Maricarmen’s life is changed forever. During the rise of the drug crisis sweeping their tight-knit community, Maricarmen fights to make a home for herself, for Rey, for Rey’s young brother Tito, and eventually, for her daughter Nena.
Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation, as the community that had once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Encumbered by loss and betrayal, and reckoning with her burgeoning sexuality, Nena must learn to navigate the world on her own, to fight for herself and her family. An immersive and propulsive exploration of generational grief and the legacy of colonialism, This Is the Only Kingdom is a searing and moving portrait of a family torn apart, determined to find their way back.
In gorgeous and striking prose, Jaquira Díaz tells a profoundly moving story of one unforgettable family. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Maricarmen works hard, getting good grades, and cleaning houses after school. She dreams of becoming a singer. When she meets Rey, a young Black musician, she falls in love with his dynamism and his voice. But when her mother discovers their relationship, the course of Maricarmen’s life is changed forever. During the rise of the drug crisis sweeping their tight-knit community, Maricarmen fights to make a home for herself, for Rey, for Rey’s young brother Tito, and eventually, for her daughter Nena.
Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation, as the community that had once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Encumbered by loss and betrayal, and reckoning with her burgeoning sexuality, Nena must learn to navigate the world on her own, to fight for herself and her family. An immersive and propulsive exploration of generational grief and the legacy of colonialism, This Is the Only Kingdom is a searing and moving portrait of a family torn apart, determined to find their way back.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThis Is the Only Kingdom Reviews
4.0
BelievableChange and growMemorableMultilayeredOriginalRelatableFast-pacedPlot holesSteady pacingWell-structuredAtmosphericDarkEvocative imageryGrittyHarshHistoricalNostalgicRealisticRusticSetting fits the storyBeautifully-writtenDescriptiveEasy to readOriginalStraightforwardAbleismAbuseBigotryDeathDomestic violenceGriefHomophobiaMisogynyMurderRacismReligious intoleranceSubstance abuseViolence
“I love Jaquira Diaz’s way of telling stories. This multigenerational family saga was absolutely devastating, but beautiful. The characters are complex, imperfect, raw and felt so real and the same goes for the setting. I’m obsessed with the way that Diaz uses music and magical realism to enhance the story and build on the legend she’s trying to complicate. Nena/Nenu and Tito have my whole heart.”
BelievableChange and growDiverse representationMemorableMorally ambiguousMultilayeredStrong relationshipsClever plottingSatisfying conclusionSteady pacingWell-structuredEvocative imageryGrittyImmersive world-buildingInnovativeNostalgicRealisticSetting fits the storyUnique locationVivid descriptionsBeautifully-writtenDescriptiveEasy to readFlowery/lushOriginalAbuseDeathGriefHomophobiaMurderRacismSelf-harmSubstance abuseViolence
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