We Need No Wings by Ann Davila Cardinal
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Web ID: 19876523Good book
We Need No Wings by Ann Dávila Cardinal is a unique and intriguing contemporary fiction. This book was an interesting combination of realism vs ethereal and the balance made for a unique read. The fantasy and other-worldly threads were wound with the real life experiences of grief, loss, healing, and the complexities of looking within one’s life and oneself. It definitely gave me a few things to think about. 4/5 stars Thank you NG and Sourcebooks Landmark for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 9/10/24.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Feminism, Mysticism, and Grief
Feminism. Mysticism. Finding oneself….This book was a sweet story about a 60 year old English Lit professor who is "stuck" after the death of her husband, except when she levitates, prompting a trip to Spain to explore her roots. As a former Catholic, I thought the history of Saint Teresa was really interesting, especially because she and our MC are both badasses. The characters were all really delightful and the book is written with both reverence for the subject matter and irreverent humor. An easy read, I was left wishing for deeper interactions between the characters (especially Juan and Rodrigo), however. I loved how the story was sort of semi-autobiographical, minus the magical realism that makes stories written by Latin authors so special.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Examination of the Catholic Church and Grief
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review We Need No Wings by Ann Dávila Cardinal is a third person-POV magical realist contemporary. Tere Sanchez’s husband has passed away, she’s struggling to return to work, and she’s started levitating against her will. In desperation, Tere heads to Ávila, Spain in order to get in touch with an aunt of hers who is also a nun and to learn more about her ancestor, Saint Teresa of Ávila. What I really liked was how passionate Tere is presented when she’s in the classroom. At sixty, she’s a literature pressure who focuses on Latin American literature and magical realism and is more than qualified to be the chair of the English department, even though she isn’t given a chance. I loved seeing her defend how magical realism is mainly a literary and political movement in countries who were colonized and how some authors working with similar themes aren’t really coming from the same experience. I would love to listen to a full lecture on this topic. Another thing I liked was how Tere connects to Juan, a young man in Ávila who assists her several times. She helps him with his resume to get into a local school and they connect over their difficult childhoods. It’s nice seeing intergenerational friendships and two people with different perspectives finding common ground and choosing kindness. As someone who was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school, what really spoke to me was Tere’s complicated relationship with the Church. A lot of the points she brought up were the same issues that I have while she also admitted to loving the rituals and the architecture. Seeing my own thoughts and feelings towards my religion really showed how two people can have the same thoughts and still comes to different conclusions for themselves (Tere is an atheist and I still identify as Catholic even if I do not go to Church). I would recommend this to fans of books that feature complicated themes around religion, readers looking for a magical realism narrative, and those who love books featuring saints and examine how we talk about historical figures
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com