Olga Dies Dreaming: A Novel, Xochitl Gonzalez, author; Almarie Guerra, Ines del Castillo, Armando Riesco, narrators.
This book has garnered so many accolades that I thought I would absolutely love it, and I settled into reading it with great expectations. I am not sure what it is about this book that is so beloved, by so many, because I was disappointed with the language, which was foul, and the message which was highly anti-America. I can understand the author’s desire to promote Puerto Rican independence, however, I cannot understand, and I find it very hard to tolerate, her abject hatred for some of America’s leaders and for American leadership, the very obvious major theme of the book.
Basically, the book is about a family whose ancestors and immediate family originally came from Puerto Rico. The author presents a great deal of history about the country. The lives of these characters seem to be filled with disappointment in this, their adopted country, and also in the way it has established its rule and control of Puerto Rico. Their mother wants to free the country from colonization and seems to be willing to do anything to accomplish this goal, even breaking the law and causing death and destruction. She is manipulative and very extreme in her views.
Pietro and Olga have grown up with a father who was addicted to drugs and died of Aids and a mother who abandoned them to start a band of revolutionaries in a remote area of Puerto Rico. How they handled the emotional trauma of their lives is described in detail. How they handled capitalism is another issue they struggle with, since although they enjoy the fruits of their labor, they often resent how their money is made and those who have more than they do. The class divide is a major thorn in their backs. What comes through as a main message in this novel is their ultimate dislike of our Capitalist society.
Olga is a wedding planner and Pietro is a politician. Their relationship with each other is close but sometimes also is rocky and fraught with secrets. Peitro’s sexual orientation is hidden, though it is not a well kept secret, and Olga’s sexual promiscuity is not a secret at all. Both of them engage with less than reputable characters, conducting borderline criminal activity, or outright criminal activity, to benefit their lifestyles. They seem eager to find and accept excuses for their illicit behavior.
There is not one progressive message left out of this novel, and if you are not progressive in the extreme, you may find it offensive and be unable to complete the reading of it. However, those who believe in the cancel culture and the demonization of America, as opposed to loving the country and its democracy, should adore the author and the book. Only one character seems to be very likeable, and that is Mateo, who although troubled emotionally, is the only character not engaged in any behavior that is intentionally meant to hurt another. He seems without anger, though he is bereft about his mother’s passing and has never fully recovered from the loss. There is also, perhaps, one aunt who is less distasteful than the rest.
Olga, especially, accepts little responsibility for her wanton an selfish behavior, believing it is her right to conduct herself in any manner she chooses, leaving disappointed men and friends in her wake. She engages with unsavory characters to fill her coffers even as she rejects the idea of capitalism being a worthy pursuit. Olga takes the reader into 2025 when her mother, perhaps unhinged, finally commits an act of sabotage so great, but not unexpected, that she is horrified. Her reaction to her mother’s crime, however, may startle some readers.
The reader is constantly subjected to a hate-filled, insulting dialogue that I found hard to absorb and many may also feel the same way. I wondered why anyone in America would laud a book that hates America with so much passion and belittles its policies and accomplishments with so much fury. The disgraceful comments about the unnamed President in 2017, whom everyone will recognize, were so radical and politically biased, the author should possibly have edited them out, or at the very least, felt shame writing them. Instead, the left wing of the publishing industry promoted her anger and her hate, as well as her “woke” agenda and narrative that grew more hypocritical as the book developed.
The author falsely blames the conservatives for the disgraceful cancel culture, after Olga’s business began to fail because of her remarks made during a television interview about America and its response to Hurricane Maria, which destroyed parts of Puerto Rico. Yet it is well known that the only ones canceling speech and personalities, are the Progessives and Democrats. They have also engaged in canceling all opposing views, which is exactly what Olga and Pietro’s mother would like to accomplish in Puerto Rico.
Every dysfunctional aspect of society is promoted or sponsored by the narrative, and the blame for anything Olga or Pietro dislike is placed squarely on the shoulders of the right side of politics. The two of them believe in random, perhaps unprotected sex, and one of them suffers the consequences. The book promotes racial animus, points fingers at white nationalists, and supports the idea that the approach to natural disasters on the island, that are not given the attention they deserve because they are not gringos, coupled with corporate greed, is responsible for Puerto Rico’s failures and lack of advancement as a country. The fact that Olga had been greedy, while living a successful if not necessarily totally honest life, and Prieto had advanced to an elected position of power, even as he behaved irresponsibly, and often dishonestly, was largely treated as acceptable and normal. Both had their behavior praised by left wing moderators as in the comment about “truthtelling” by the author, regardless of whether that idea even was truthful. Furthermore, Don Lemon is good and FOX NEWS is evil which tells you that the author is not hiding her bias at all. In addition, the narrator’s tone is so sarcastic when speaking about the right, and so heartfelt when speaking about the left, that she is also prejudiced even as she does an admirable job with the audio.
With less than 100 pages to read, I almost gave up on the book. It appeared to be nothing more than a Progressive treatise that trashes President Trump mercilessly and disrespectfully and promotes revolution to right their perceived wrongs. One character even shamefully calls Trump a useful idiot, which is an oxymoron since the Democrats, in 2020, in a highly controversial election, have actually elected, perhaps, the only useful idiot ever before to live in the White House. No references to the current left-wing failures are address, although the book travels to 2025, since it is obvious that the author is a “woke” socialist. She makes no attempt to hide it.
The book is for a particular audience of radical progressives who bridge no compromise and no conversation of alternate views. Since I am not in that category, I literally felt assaulted by this book’s message and horrified that the author shows no gratitude whatsoever for the benefits this country has provided herself and her ancestral homeland. This is a political book that seems to encourage the overthrow of American control in Puerto Rico by any means, violent or peaceful.
This country provides opportunities for millions of people who risk their lives to arrive on these shores. I was stunned that the author portrayed America and its leaders so deplorably. Capitalism is described as the enemy of Puerto Ricans, even as they continue to come here to advance in our economic system. The author uses a despicable term to describe people of Puerto Rican descent, a word that I have not heard in decades. I lived in Brooklyn and only coarse, ignorant and crude people used it. However, this author thinks nothing of describing white people as “gringos” who are bad. Gringos are racist. Gringos are white and evil. Why does a white population not object to this kind of thinking?
The characters had no code of ethics or sense of morality. They appreciated nothing in their lives and seemed bent on trashing America only for their lack of success. Puerto Rico’s failure to advance is blamed not on Puerto Rico’s policies, or Puerto Ricans, but on America and Americans. I found the author to be too angry and too strident in her approach. The following are some of the themes and characters presented throughout. Olga stands for personal freedom and reproductive rights. She is angry because her mother walked out. Prieto is trying to fit in and is for improving the environment and the LGBTQ+ community. However he is in the closet. Christian is black and gay and he commits suicide to illustrate the emotional consequence of being gay in America. Mateo is a hoarder, but honorable, and is also Jewish. He was devastated by his mother’s death and has not really recovered. Mr. Blumenthal is an elite, greedy businessman. To say more, would be futile. If you enjoy reading about these things, you will enjoy the book.