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![Olga Dies Dreaming by [Xochitl Gonzalez]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51S8uXENbMS._SY346_.jpg)
Olga Dies Dreaming Kindle Edition
Xochitl Gonzalez (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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'Deeply satisfying and nuanced . . . a tender exploration of love in its many forms' Observer
'Gonzalez couples engrossing political intrigue with engagingly flawed characters you can't help but root for' Mail on Sunday
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro 'Prieto' Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying, Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can't seem to find her own . . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.
Twenty-seven years ago, their mother, Blanca, a Young Lord-turned-radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.
Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream - all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherFleet
- Publication date6 January 2022
- File size1839 KB
Product description
Review
Indie Next Selection for January 2022
Book of the Month Club Selection
The sharpest and best written social comedy in a while. --The Los Angeles Times
Liberation is at the heart of Olga Dies Dreaming. The story's driving tension derives from questions of how to break free...The book's title is an allusion to the poem "Puerto Rican Obituary," by Pedro Pietri, which contains the lines "Olga / dies dreaming of a five dollar raise." But Gonzalez's Olga will not go meekly to such a fate. Sometimes we must free ourselves -- even from dreams. -- New York Times Book Review
Atmospheric, intelligent, and well informed: an impressive debut. -- Kirkus, starred review
Olga Dies Dreaming is a beautiful force -- completely unique in its intricacies yet universal in the characters' desires to be loved and understood. -- Associated Press
A fantastically engaging story...Rarely does a novel, particularly a debut novel, contend so powerfully and so delightfully with such a vast web of personal, cultural, political and even international imperatives. --The Washington Post
[An] edifying debut... Gonzalez elevates this family drama with a great deal of insight on the characters' diaspora and politics. -- Publishers Weekly
A wonderful and thought-provoking story... -- BookRiot
Olga Dies Dreaming intricately presents its flawed characters working through the meaning of cultural identity, family secrets, grief, and self-preservation. Their stories capture the ways in which we sometimes define ourselves by how others see us -- to often painful ends.
-- Book of the Month
Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a healthy dose of tough love with her buzzy debut Olga Dies Dreaming. -- TIME
In her ambitious debut novel, Gonzalez explores such weighty topics as coercion, rape, gentrification, and the colonial exploitation...Shining throughout, however, is the redeeming quality of love in all its iterations: romantic, fraternal, paternal, patriotic, and ultimately, love of self. -- Booklist
"In Xochitl Gonzalez's gripping debut, the shadow of their absent mother, a Puerto Rican independence activist, looms over the political and personal choices of two adult siblings living in Brooklyn." - Vanity Fair
Vibrant and raw...Olga Dies Dreaming delivers a roller coaster's worth of beautiful highs and lows. All told, it's an experience worth savoring. -- BookPage
"Hilarious... A sprawling dramedy of love, politics, blackmail and real estate featuring a Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn. -- People
"In this Technicolor novel from an astounding new voice, we meet Olga and Prieto Acevedo... Packed with richly imagined characters and vivacious prose, the novel asks how we can live meaningful lives in a world rife with inequality." -- Esquire
"For lovers of fiction, [OLGA DIES DREAMING] doesn't simply demand your attention--it seizes your attention by the huevos and doesn't let go until you turn the last page. For Puerto Rican and Boricua readers, Gonzalez and her characters breathe new life into the age-old adage, Pa'lante." - Jezebel
The extraordinary accomplishment of Olga Dies Dreaming is in how a familiar-enough tale--a woman seeking love, happiness, and fulfillment in the big city--slowly reveals itself to be something else altogether. It's a book about a New York that isn't always celebrated, the one that belongs to immigrant communities; about money, class, and political power; about one vividly-imagined family and the very idea of the American Dream. -- Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind
In this sparkling debut, Gonzalez digs deep into the damaged heart of a family, ably dissecting the knottiness of conditional love, identity, loyalty, secrets and the very definition of home. That she manages to cover so much ground with wisdom, tenderness and abundant humor makes this book a complete joy, and I will think about its richly drawn, deeply human characters for a very long time. -- Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest and Good Company
"Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of an imperfect family shattered by secrets, grief, and abandonment, and of people who rise up, refusing to be broken. Smart, witty, and driven, Gonzalez's Olga hustles, stumbles, falls, and eventually finds her way. An unflinching examination of capitalism, corruption, gentrification, colonialism, and their effects on marginalized people, Olga Dies Dreaming is a poignant, scalding debut." -- Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls
"Olga Dies Dreaming is as funny as it is insightful, as deft as it is original. In this impressive debut, Xochitl Gonzalez displays a gift for capturing the absurdity in the fabric of life. Wit and wisdom rarely combine in such a powerful one-two punch." -- Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Loving Day
"Olga Dies Dreaming is a love letter to Brooklyn brimming with the best music, with dreams and sorrows--the stuff of real life. At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Gonzalez gives us a gripping novel about community, family, betrayal, and the complicated inheritance of diaspora--a wild and ambitious saga that shows once again how the personal is always deeply political. An unforgettable story about finding and defending home. -- Jennine Capó Crucet, author of My Time Among The Whites
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.Review
From the Publisher
From the Back Cover
A blazing new talent debuts with the story of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her absent mother, her glittering career among New York's elite and her Puerto Rican roots in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro 'Prieto' Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying, Latinx neighbourhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can't seem to find her own . . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.
Twenty-seven years ago, their mother, Blanca, a Young Lord-turnedradical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barrelling back into their lives.
Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream - all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
Book Description
From the Inside Flap
A blazing new talent debuts with the story of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her absent mother, her glittering career among New York's elite and her Puerto Rican roots in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro 'Prieto' Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying, Latinx neighbourhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can't seem to find her own . . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.
Twenty-seven years ago, their mother, Blanca, a Young Lord-turnedradical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barrelling back into their lives.
Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream - all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
About the Author
Review
Indie Next Selection for January 2022
Book of the Month Club Selection
Atmospheric, intelligent, and well informed: an impressive debut. -- Kirkus, starred review
A fantastically engaging story...Rarely does a novel, particularly a debut novel, contend so powerfully and so delightfully with such a vast web of personal, cultural, political and even international imperatives. --The Washington Post
[An] edifying debut... Gonzalez elevates this family drama with a great deal of insight on the characters' diaspora and politics. -- Publishers Weekly
A wonderful and thought-provoking story... -- BookRiot
Olga Dies Dreaming intricately presents its flawed characters working through the meaning of cultural identity, family secrets, grief, and self-preservation. Their stories capture the ways in which we sometimes define ourselves by how others see us -- to often painful ends. -- Book of the Month
Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a healthy dose of tough love with her buzzy debut Olga Dies Dreaming. -- TIME
In her ambitious debut novel, Gonzalez explores such weighty topics as coercion, rape, gentrification, and the colonial exploitation...Shining throughout, however, is the redeeming quality of love in all its iterations: romantic, fraternal, paternal, patriotic, and ultimately, love of self. -- Booklist
Vibrant and raw...Olga Dies Dreaming delivers a roller coaster's worth of beautiful highs and lows. All told, it's an experience worth savoring. -- BookPage
"Hilarious... A sprawling dramedy of love, politics, blackmail and real estate featuring a Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn. -- People
The extraordinary accomplishment of Olga Dies Dreaming is in how a familiar-enough tale--a woman seeking love, happiness, and fulfillment in the big city--slowly reveals itself to be something else altogether. It's a book about a New York that isn't always celebrated, the one that belongs to immigrant communities; about money, class, and political power; about one vividly-imagined family and the very idea of the American Dream. -- Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind
In this sparkling debut, Gonzalez digs deep into the damaged heart of a family, ably dissecting the knottiness of conditional love, identity, loyalty, secrets and the very definition of home. That she manages to cover so much ground with wisdom, tenderness and abundant humor makes this book a complete joy, and I will think about its richly drawn, deeply human characters for a very long time. -- Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest and Good Company
"Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of an imperfect family shattered by secrets, grief, and abandonment, and of people who rise up, refusing to be broken. Smart, witty, and driven, Gonzalez's Olga hustles, stumbles, falls, and eventually finds her way. An unflinching examination of capitalism, corruption, gentrification, colonialism, and their effects on marginalized people, Olga Dies Dreaming is a poignant, scalding debut." -- Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls
"Olga Dies Dreaming is as funny as it is insightful, as deft as it is original. In this impressive debut, Xochitl Gonzalez displays a gift for capturing the absurdity in the fabric of life. Wit and wisdom rarely combine in such a powerful one-two punch." -- Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Loving Day
"Olga Dies Dreaming is a love letter to Brooklyn brimming with the best music, with dreams and sorrows--the stuff of real life. At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Gonzalez gives us a gripping novel about community, family, betrayal, and the complicated inheritance of diaspora--a wild and ambitious saga that shows once again how the personal is always deeply political. An unforgettable story about finding and defending home. -- Jennine Capó Crucet, author of My Time Among The Whites
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.Product details
- ASIN : B0956ZYK2B
- Publisher : Fleet (6 January 2022)
- Language : English
- File size : 1839 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 385 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 1250786177
- Best Sellers Rank: 26,659 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 16 in Hispanic Literature
- 19 in Hispanic-American Literature
- 80 in Satire (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Xochitl Gonzalez has an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow and recipient of the Michener-Copernicus Prize in Fiction. She was the winner of the 2019 Disquiet Literary Prize and her work has been published on Ninth Letter, Joyland Magazine, Vogue and The Cut. Her debut novel Olga Dies Dreaming will be published in January ’22 by Flatiron Books. Prior to beginning her MFA, Xochitl was an entrepreneur and strategic consultant for nearly 15 years. She serves on the Board of the Lower East Side Girls Club. A native Brooklynite and proud public school graduate, she received her B.A. in Fine Art from Brown University. She lives in her hometown of Brooklyn with her dog, Hectah Lavoe.
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from Australia
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This story is rich in Puerto Rican culture and history; I learned so much without feeling like sitting in a lecture. Information weaves throughout the narrative, mainly from Olga and Prieto's mother's letters as she rants against the world. I knew a little about political activist groups that become violent, and this broadened my awareness, introducing a wider perspective on a lot of cultural and political ideologies and movements.
Olga is the most confusing character. She's strong and in control at times, maintaining aloof romantic relationships that fit her needs and running an impressive business - but she's also doing a lot of shady shit. Like, she is kind of a part of the Russian mafia and scamming her clients. And all these sides of her are presented in the same light, carrying the same amount of weight and morality. So how am I supposed to know what to think if Xóchitl González doesn't tell me what I'm supposed to think?! Thankfully, Olga has Matteo in her life - without him, I'm reasonably certain she would have ended up as a full-blown member of the mafia, or in prison, or something along these lines. So Matteo becomes a sort of moral backdrop to which Olga's actions can be contrasted and put into perspective, not only for the reader but for Olga as well.
My favourite aspect, and the most inspirational part of Olga Dies Dreaming , is the insightful discussion of activism and the role it has played throughout history as well as its importance and potential in future. It doesn't sugarcoat how activism works, and in fact, goes into the gritty details and how far some groups will go outside of the law to achieve their goals. Instead, it portrays the roles played by many different kinds of people in social movements, leaving it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions.
I appreciated the difficult differentiation between unavoidable moments disguised as choice and difficult choices disguised as unavoidable. Both Olga and Prieto face a lot of these moments, and they don't always make the honourable, or arguably 'right' choice - which makes them interesting and more realistic characters. Of course, it's always easy to judge from the outside when others make seemingly unthinkable decisions, but Olga Dies Dreaming drives home the point repeatedly that no one ever knows the whole story.
The breadth of this novel is breathtaking. Olga Dies Dreaming touches on militant activist groups, addiction, cultural norms, AIDS, hoarding, relationships, and hurricanes (and those are just the main topics). The writing is easy to read but sophisticated; it caught me off guard at times to be reading about wedding planning and Russian mobsters in the same context, but it made the story more exciting rather than unbelievable. This is my first 2022 book, and it's setting a high standard for any other books that will be published (technically) next year.
My favourite thing in this book was the fascinating relationship between 40-something siblings Olga and Prieto, and their absent-for-27-years mother, Blanca. Imagine this: Your mother abandons you during your youth to join an underground militant cause. In the intervening years, her only communication is one-way traffic in the form of letters sent irregularly that offer advice, provide criticism and make demands. Blanca knows when and which buttons to push, and she does so irrespective of the impact to her children. It’s no wonder that Olga and Prieto are not the well-adjusted, successful adults they outwardly appear to be.
I also liked the way the author portrays all her characters – the good, the ignorant and the monstrous. The family dynamics showed strong familial bonds even in the face of great disappointment or everyday bickering.
What didn’t work for me was how the author wove Puerto Rico into the story. It’s a significant plot driver but I felt the author assumed too much knowledge. This book was a start/stop affair because I was often researching, trying to sort fact from fiction. Frustratingly, it’s not until very late in the book that the author offers a concise history of Puerto Rico. If I had this information much earlier in the book it would have made for an entirely different, and much more pleasurable, reading experience.
Do I recommend this book? It’s a cautious yes. I would advise readers to jump to the 80%-ish mark to read Blanca’s letter dated May 20, 2016 for the short history lesson before starting.
Top reviews from other countries






Reviewed in the United States on 11 January 2022
