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The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore
Anika Fajardo
384 Pages
Gallery Books
Goodreads/Amazon.com/Bookshop.org
What attracted me to this book at the library was its cover; I am a sucker for pretty covers. I am also attracted to unusual titles (perhaps because I can never think of good titles for my own writing to save my life). I needed to read this book to know who these mothers were.
Now, this was admittedly a slow burn. I do sometimes get tired with those sorts of books. I get impatient and need to have something more concrete happen now. But it was pretty clear from the beginning that this was not the kind of novel where that was going to happen. If you are looking for suspense or action, this is not it and you should move on. On the other hand, if you like or are in the mood for slightly quirky characters who have to cope with difficult situations and then find out more about themselves, then you are in the right place.
This protagonist is a relatively young woman in her mid 30s who was raised in a home with two mothers. Even though this is not uncommon nowadays, I still do not see it in literature that much so I was intrigued. Dolores was adopted from Colombia but had never gotten back there until after both her mothers have died. She fulfills a promise to one of them to return to Columbia to see where she “comes from.” Her birth parents have both died as well and the fact that she is an orphan many times over is something that impacts her and that she has to come to terms with. It is actually the thing that personally ties me to this novel, because I am also adopted and all of my parents are deceased and even as an older adult, it’s a lot.
The author uses character development and dialogue as well as situation to explore how Dolores comes to terms with her emotions and how she is going to go on with the rest of her life, which includes new developments that will cause drastic changes. Magical realism is used to lighten the situation, which is exactly what that device is supposed to accomplish. It is not an easy thing to do but Ms. Fajardo manages to use it effectively in order to keep the situation from being overwhelming to the reader.
This is Ms. Fajardo’s first novel and I am in awe. Few debuts earn five stars from me. If you enjoy character driven novels or even if you do not (they do not tend to be my favorite) but like seeing how characters deal with adversity in unfamiliar and difficult circumstances, do yourself a favor and read it. Give it a little chance. It will take a little while to engage and perhaps a little more to fully understand (there are flashbacks to Dolores’ birth parents) but it is well worth some patience.
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