America Is Not The Heart

So, this is secretly the best romance novel of the year. It's a lot of other things, too, but I was so breathlessly invested in the love story that I had to keep taking breaks to pace furiously. It's unabashedly warm and often surprisingly funny, and if its web of food and music and sex and family and trauma is sometimes messy and sprawling then that's so clearly the point that it would be churlish to complain. Honestly, though, I'm struggling to focus on things other than Hero and Rosalyn - it's such a lovely, full-blooded queer romance, and I am hugely grateful for it.

Shocking, heartbreaking, deeply affecting, confronting, balls-out, raw, passionate, sensual.

Those are just some of the words I noted down whilst reading this book. An amazing debut from Elaine Castillo who for me epitomises a good writer: someone who is able to convey a range of emotions and feelings that many people would find difficult to articulate.

"There was just a fist of emotion in her chest, but it was too tightly closed to tell just what emotion it was; she figured it was grief, or even just shock, but she knew it wasn’t that, not really. It was close to the feeling of someone finally turning out a light in a room that had long ago been emptied – shelves dustless, floor bare."

Told from the perspectives of three women, each character is richly described, and all have believable intricacies and complexities. Castillo seems to understand people with all of their strengths and flaws and describes them with such eloquence and ease. I don’t often come across a sex scene in a book so beautifully and naturally written, also refreshing is the fact it’s between two women. I also enjoyed the little observations that capture snapshots of real life so effortlessly that help bring the story to life:

"She closed the door, and he shook his head. Nah, it’s not closed all the way. You gotta really slam it. She opened the door again, then yanked it closed with the full strength of her shoulder, making the entire car shake."

The story includes disturbing references to historical events in the Philippines in the 1990s which I immediately wanted to look up and research further. These glimpses of the relatively recent past are fascinating and informative but never detract from the main thrust of the story and the importance of the characters. I was pretty clueless on the history and politics of the Philippines so it was quite shocking to read about the horrors of the civil war and the brutalities committed.

The use of different languages such as Tagalog, Ilocano and Pangasinan was extremely effective – the speech isn’t always translated, which I guess some could find off-putting, but I found it added substance and realism to the characters’ family dynamic. The mentions of traditional food dishes and delicacies were mouth-wateringly described, and made me vividly recall eating pandan desserts and various noodle dishes when I lived in Asia.

While the Filipino immigrant experience in the US looms large over the book, it is not exclusive at all. It is written in a very inclusive way so that I think everyone who reads it will relate to it on a different and personal level. The book’s strength is its cast of characters and Castillo’s skilful creation of them, which allows us to delve so deeply into their lives that at times it feels like a fly-on-the-wall autobiographical account. The book is ultimately about families, friendships, love and pain and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk for my ARC.

I can’t really fault this book so am giving it 5 stars.