Tuesday, December 27, 2016

THE MORTIFICATIONS by Derek Palacio

THE MORTIFICATIONS by Derek Palacio is a novel about a Cuban family in the 1980's.  Page one starts in full of drama and action as things come to a head in their little family forcing the mother to make extreme choices for her and her children.  A new life in the United States with all it's differences and advantages detailed in the mix. Mortifications is a term identified with the Catholic religion that often included people hurting themselves physically for punishment.  There is a lot of Catholicism in the novel.  The term Mortifications in Palacio's novel refers more to the mental mortifications and punishments people often put themselves through for what they perceive as their failures. The novel has a little of the mystic in it as well as down and dirty gritty details of life.  It is a story of what can take place in the mind during life due to what has been programmed into your mind or what has happened to you in life. It is amazing to think of how someone may be gone from your life for several decades, yet you think of them in some kind of way every day.
I enjoyed reading this book and gave a copy to a family friend at Christmas.  Having been written by a man it is not too much of a chick flick to be limited to reading by women only. THE MORTIFICATIONS would be a great movie with the contrast of the beautiful exotic scenery of the island of Cuba with the practical, organized coziness of New England.  In fact it most likely will be a movie.  It has all the qualities of the new hit TV show "THIS IS US".   
 
Find out more about the author at derekpalacio.com
 
 
*I received this book at no charge in exchange for a review of the book from Blogging for Books.  They provided the image of the book cover as well.