The book was so beautiful and had so many expressive elaborate messages and moments.

Hi just started the book.
I was born in Albuquerque, NM.Thus I am thrilled to read a book about the Hermanos.i will share my experiences of Semana Santa in my grammas house.

Wonderful book. I would recommend it to anyone who is passionate

I liked the book very much. It illustrates what happens with lack of education, poverty and addiction causes in families. It also shows the consequences of broken families. It was uplifting to see healing and hope in the end.

this was an excellent book. The author’s first hand knowledge of the cultural aspects of the population in the area of New Mexico shined through.

I loved how the author was able to make you feel empathy for the characters even though they were sometimes making bad decisions. It was a very human experience. I really loved the book!

I live in the Northern New Mexico area discussed in this book. I appreciated the insights into the penitente culture having seen the Good Friday processions. I understand that the moradas and penitents are secret and not to be shown to outsiders and I respect their heritage. This family is messy mess but their interactions ring true and the hopefulness never dies.. Love to see the development of Angel anther parents.

What this book illustrated for me,
is the pernicious cycle of poverty, violence and dysfunction. So vey unfortunate for Amadeo, Melisa and Angel that they didn’t have role models to show them how to relate to others stating needs, appreciating and communicating respectfully without insults.
I absolutely loved the way the stories of each character are told, their insecurities, their dreams…they are so human and relatable. Their behaviors reflect their development in an authentic and honest way.
What a wonderful book!

Like many of the others who posted, I found the story depressing and thought about not finishing it. I agree with the one who wrote, why not include some Hispanic characters who were successful or made a better balance of good and bad choices. It was interesting to read about the Holy Week and processions, though it could have been even more educational…I think the author only touched the tip of the iceberg. I’m not sure how realistic the characters were. I felt for Yolanda and how her family and associates were blind to her disease. While that seemed very… Read more »

Throughout this book, it was sometimes extremely difficult to tolerate these characters. However, I found myself still wanting to know what happens to them and how they end up. Whenever I felt myself hating the book because of the characters, I had to step back and ask myself, “why?”. Do I dislike them because these are not the situations I would put myself in nor the decisions I would make? Or is it because they remind me of the people in my life who have similar mindsets and qualities? I think the author did a wonderful job at highlighting the… Read more »

I enjoyed this book. The characters were familiar. I can’t understand the lifetime of disappointments that drive the characters to make the choices they do. It is very frustrating to watch them, The story was uplifting because there was a chance for redemption and community for the characters at the end.

Ultimately, the novel is uplifting, though for hours at a time, I felt it was relentlessly headed for an unavoidable, horrible denouement. Amadeo’s self-pitying alcoholic slide seemed destined to drag his entire family into the abyss he created. While his redemption was foreshadowed from the start, it seemed shockingly abrupt.

Good read. I was rooting for all of the characters to overcome the adversity and hardship they faced.

An entertaining read. THe author knows the environment. Her characters reflect the people of the mountain villages and their lives and tensions.

The author has written this book with raw evidence of generational “curses”. Both hilarious and grim, The Five Wounds is a must-read.