the grief keeper - april 2021 - lesbian film guide

4/12/2021 5 Comments

the grief keeper - april 2021

Holly

4/12/2021 07:45:44 pm

hay everyone, just started the book and I like it already. can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts!

holly

4/16/2021 09:09:30 am

I finished the book a couple of days ago, and I have to say I really enjoyed it! This was by far one of the easiest books for me to finish because I thought the plot captured my attention right away. I forgot I was reading a sapphic book because I was so invested in the plot, and then once the gay stuff started happening I was just extra interested. I thought that the author did a really good job incorporating Spanish into the text, I was never left confused as to what was going on or what the characters were trying to say.
Everything beyond this point is a SPOILER btw

This book touched on so many issues and I thought the author handled them all well. This book came out in June of 2019, so I think this book came out at an important time in history. I really think the author used the extreme metaphor as Marisol being the "Grief Keeper" and pretty much being subjected to torture to show how people view immigrants today. The fact that Marisol was selected for this job because they knew she would take it out of desperation is really sad. Although it is an extreme metaphor, because obviously this technology does not exist today, it shows how immigrants are devalued and prayed upon.
Although Indranie and the doctor could easily be seen as bad people, it is interesting that the author still chose to show empathy for them and not just portray them as terrible villains. Honestly I liked that because it shows that people have their own reasons for the choices they make, whether they are good choices or bad choices, and you cannot really judge someone. Although this is just a book that ended up having a good ending, and I am not sure how practical it would be to apply this to real life. But I am not angry that she made this particular decision.
I also thought it was interesting how the author didn't tell us about the reason Marisol and her family needed to flee, extreme homophobia, until pretty much the end. For me personally, it is easy to forget how lucky I am to be able to be gay and not have to worry about my family or friends inflicting violence against me. It was enlightening and it made me take a step back. I am so happy that Marisol got to live out her authentic self at the end of the book it made me happy to see a happy ending for the gays.
Anyways, I have a lot to say and I could say more, feel free to share if you agree or disagree with me I would love to hear about everyone else's thoughts.

Angela

4/20/2021 12:35:58 am

Ah, I finished reading this book in 2 days, reading it at work because I just couldn't put it down. The plot and the characters were so interesting, and nicely constructed that they kept me focused on the action rather than the love that was supposed to bloom...I don't know, it was a bit irrelevant.
I liked how it tackled on social issues, I don't really read books with immigrants, but "The Grief Keeper" reminded me of what I am about to go through in the near future, or what my family went through for so many years. I got annoyed on the system, just like Marisol, and I realized nothing will ever change, because people will still see "the others" as something that should be put to work, hard work, sometimes degrading work, just because they don't belong in a country. The cultural references, the language that was put in the text, were very well adapted to the plot and it added a new dimension to the whole book.
As for the characters, some I enjoyed, some I didn't, some I wanted to kill (including Marisol's brother, for his stupidity and for all the things he said to Marisol just because he wanted so much to fit in). I also got slightly annoyed with Marisol, and her overprotectiveness towards her sister, but maybe that's just how big sister act.
Overall it was a good book, it made me invested in the characters' lives, it kept me focused on what was happening and I would like to read something similar to it sometimes.

holly

4/20/2021 09:33:49 am

yay I'm so glad you liked it! I loved your thoughts on the book. I agree I also did not like Marisol's brother but I did not realize it until you mentioned it. He was very selfish and didn't seem to care about his sisters at all. I am kind of surprised the author didn't go into his history and background a bit more and maybe why he was the way he was, just because it seemed like she did that with other characters in the book that were also not the best character wise. I honestly think Marisol was just overly protective because of what happened with their brother and kind of focused all of her energy on protecting Gabi rather than thinking about the death of her brother and mourning.

Angela

4/21/2021 04:23:40 am

True, maybe he could've gotten a redemption arc, or something, because right now I have the feeling that their relationship was kind of forced into the book. I don't know maybe a background story would've made a difference. I mean, the author put more details into Pixie's story, and I don't think she deserved it that much 😅, so why not someone from Marisol's past, since the book was about her?

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