... packs a lot of story into just over 200 pages. The titular siblings, Rafa and Rufina, are in their late 20s and mourning the recent death of their mother, Rosalinda ... All their lives Rosalinda, Rafa and Rufina have been caught in the maelstrom of history, unable to affect it but scarred by events far beyond their ability to control or comprehend. These presences are like characters in a fable. Even those of us who resist magical realism might accept, maybe even celebrate it in this beautifully crafted, poetic book.
Figueroa’s curious and dazzling first novel features a family in which love has been tragically twisted by traumas old and new ... Figueroa’s omniscient, second-person narration creates an intimacy while the hypnotic rhythm of her prose and evocative mystical elements invoke an archetypal sense that is at once out-of-time and thoroughly contemporary as we grudgingly recognize our own precarious epoch.
Figueroa has a way with words. The prose is poetic, unique and engrossing...and oftentimes as magical as the story itself. It’s easy to get lost in the language and the story, both creating this dream-like caliber, but it can sometimes be challenging. The reader may float above the surface without always finding a way in. But that could be the intention. To swim over these uncharted waters and characters that are taught to mystify ... Perhaps we aren’t meant to see all that’s hidden underneath. Or maybe we need to look that much harder.
... combines folklore with magical realism in a manner reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Along with ghosts who appear as recurring characters, the prose is cut with imagery and metaphor in rhythmic patterns, adding another otherworldly element to the story ... Figueroa addresses important issues, including depression, suicide and personal and generational loss, with nuanced insight. She also skewers the tendency of white Americans to exoticize people with darker skin, portraying the impact of this prejudice in a deeply stirring manner. A lyrical contemplation of how we can never run away from our past, Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer is an exquisitely woven story about resilience and trauma.
... seductive, lyrically wrought ...The narrative can get a little lost in the gorgeous, reflective language but remains an absorbing study of memory and grief.
Figueroa’s masterly debut explores the grief and trauma of two half siblings. Four months after the death of their mother, Rosalinda, Rufina and Rafa Rivera, 28 and 30, make a pact: if they collect enough money performing for the tourists visiting their high desert town in the American Southwest over the course of a weekend, the depressed Rafa will live, traveling in search of new beginnings, instead of taking his own life ... Though the novel brims with spellbinding prose, magical elements, and wounded, full hearted characters that nearly jump off the page, its most remarkable feature is perhaps its piercing critique of the white Anglo tourists’ tendency to romanticize people of color, as well as Figueroa’s examination of the traumatic effect this attitude can have on those who are deemed 'the Other.' This cleverly constructed and deeply moving account enthralls.
