Rima's Rebellion: Courage In a Time of Tyranny. Margarita Engle. 2022. [February] 208 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: During the lull between protests
we ride bareback
no bridle
or bit
no spurs
just silent messages
sent to our horses
through the pressure
of hands
knees
feet
weight
seat.
Balance
is the magic
that helps us gallop
side by side
as we ride
in dazzling
formations...
Premise/plot: Rima's Rebellion is Margarita Engle's newest verse novel. All of her novels (or at least most of her novels) are set in Cuba in varying time periods. This verse novel spans 1923-1936. At the center of the book is our heroine, Rima, an illegitimate or "natural" born daughter. Women do not have rights--equal rights, voting rights, etc. Natural born children do not have rights--they are not recognized and are lacking some basic rights. Rima takes up both causes alongside other members of her family. She's twelve when the novel opens in 1923.
My thoughts: The novel is beautifully written. I will not deny that. Here are some of my favorite bits:
Rhythm
is the power
of hoofbeats.
Courage
is the essence
of triumph...
but bravery comes and goes, ebbs, then flows
like a tide on the shore of my turbulent childhood.
Fear is like a shadow, always present
but sometimes hidden.
Strength of character is just as powerful
as muscles.
Hope soars like a spirited horse,
crossing fences and streams.
Confidence flutters and flies far away,
then returns, just as loyal
as a homing pigeon.
My mare is my wing,
her hoofs the feathers
as she rises
sun-bound
cloud-fueled
soaring high
over fences
and streams....
When we leap
I escape.
The enemy I run away from
is my own thought-trapped self,
all these doubts born within me.
If only I could mount a horse of hope
day and night, airborne, free!
Even when I'm surrounded
by men and boys who expect me to fail,
I try to remember that I belong
to a sisterhood
of endless
determination.
But I didn't feel as strong a personal connection with the story or characters as I was hoping. I have read and loved, loved, loved, loved some of her works in the past. I wanted to be in love with this novel. I just wasn't. I don't know if it spanned too many years??? tried to do too much??? Or if the decades spent working for the cause were a little too same-same-same.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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