This is a must-read, and I added it to my “huggable” book shelf, which is my highest recommendation I can give a book, one that I love so much I hug it.
My Review:
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 epic family saga stars to The House of Broken Angels! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
I have found a new author to love. Luis Alberto Urrea is a storyteller, and that is the highest compliment I can give any author.
Big Angel de la Cruz is the patriarch of his family, and he is dying. The book opens with him having to say goodbye to his mother at her funeral while also knowing he is living his last days.
Big Angel recounts the story of his family and how they came to live in the United States, a tale filled with secrets and lore. The de la Cruz family is complex, the dynamics fraught with the push and pull so native to families. Big Angel’s storytelling is raw and honest, so genuinely authentic, I could see these characters in three dimension and feel their pulses.
The House of Broken Angels is an epic story, one in which to lose yourself. One to help you reflect on your own family and its own push and pull. There is so much to love here and so much with which to relate. There is humor that will make you laugh and heartbreak, too, because isn’t that what families have to walk through together? Indelible is used in the description of this book. Yep, that summarizes it perfectly in one single word. Indelible. And huggable.
Thank you to Luis Alberto Urrea, Little, Brown and Company, and Netgalley for the ARC. The House of Broken Angels is available now!
My reviews can also be found on my shiny new blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
View all my reviews
Synopsis:
The definitive Mexican-American immigrant story, at once intimate and epic, from an acclaimed storyteller.
In his final days, beloved and ailing patriarch Miguel Angel De La Cruz, known affectionately as Big Angel, has summoned his entire clan for one last legendary birthday party. But as the party approaches, his mother, nearly one hundred, dies herself, leading to a farewell doubleheader.
Across one bittersweet weekend in their San Diego neighborhood, the revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of Big Angel and his mother, and recounting the many tales that have passed into family lore, the acts both ordinary and heroic that brought them to a fraught and sublime country and allowed them to flourish in the land they have come to call home. The story of the De La Cruzes is the American story. This indelible portrait of a complex family reminds us of what it means to be the first generation and to live two lives across one border. Teeming with brilliance and humor, authentic at every turn, The House of Broken Angels is Luis Alberto Urrea at his best, and it cements his reputation as a storyteller of the first rank.
A ‘huggable’ bookshelf! How lovely. A very enjoyable review, Jennifer. 😊
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Thanks so much, Paula! 😊 I love to hug the emotional reads, especially.
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OMG! I need to read this book! Awesome review Jen!😊
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Thank you, Susan! I definitely recommend it. Such a complex and emotional story.
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Wonderful review Jennifer!🤗
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I see this comment! ♥️ thank you, Berit! 😘
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✌🏻
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This sounds like one I would like too.
Huggable bookshelf… super cute!
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Thank you! If you are able to make time for it, I hope you love it too. Such an endearing book.
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Going to check it out now
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Looks like another one to add to my TBR. Super review as always, Jennifer!
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Thanks so much, Marialyce! I happen to think you’ll enjoy this one!
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What a fantastic review Jennifer! Your huggable shelf = top of my TBR list!
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Aww, thank you, Lindsay! Likewise with your huggable books to my top shelf! ♥️
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Great review😚😍
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Thank you, Priyasha! ♥️
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Oh wow, this definitely sounds like a special book. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much. Definitely adding it to my TBR. I love family sagas though I haven’t read many books with that theme.
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Yes, it was so special, Diana. You can’t help but love these characters, faults and all. I can’t wait to read what you think about it.
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Sounds wonderful Jennifer!
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Thanks, Holly! ♥️
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Sounds intriguing! Thanks for the follow.
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Thank you, and thank you for the follow back, Betty Louise! I can tell I’m going to have a lot of fun looking at your pretty pictures on your blog!
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Humour and Heartbreak? Sounds good to me! Great review. 💖💖
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Thank you! It is such a great mix of both! ♥️
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