 Love, life, dreams, and a world beyond reach. Amelia dreams of Mars. The Mars of the movies and the imagination, an endless bastion of opportunities for a colonist with some guts. But she’s trapped in Mexico City, enduring the drudgery of an unkind metropolis, working as a rent-a-friend, selling her blood to old folks with money who hope to rejuvenate themselves with it, enacting a fractured love story. And yet there’s Mars, at the edge of the silver screen, of life. It awaits her. |
This novella length story set in a future where we have traveled to and colonized Mars is packed full of the desperation that many are feeling right now. It is the story of a young woman who put everything she dreamed of on hold to care for a sick parent, then never was able to pick it back up again after that parent passed, with a sister who takes her presence for granted, but tries to make her feel like the leech. It is the story of a woman who finally takes her life back, with help from an unexpected source, in spite of everyone trying to convince her it's a bad idea, for their own reasons, not hers.
While I cannot say this was a fun read, if you are expecting a sci-fi story about Mars, this is not the place, it was well done and evokes the emotions that the character is feeling so well. Your heart just aches for Amelia, who can never seem to win, and constantly does for others, only to be chastised and unappreciated at every turn.
I gave this a 4/5, and look forward to reading more from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I was very affected by the slice of a life she crafted here.
No comments:
Post a Comment