Chestnut Springs #4
E-book Kindle
Author: Elsie Silver
Oh dear… This a tough review to write. Why? Did I love the book? YES. Did I love seeing people finally understand Winter? HELL, YES. Did I fall in love with Theo? A million times YES. Was I ok with the surprise/secret baby thing? Yes, yes, surprisingly yes.
Now, here’s where things get hard for me. I was thrilled when I read in the previous books that Theo was half-Brazilian. I love to see the country where I live represented and I was confident that I would be even more enamored of him.
Well… I know I’m being very picky but it’s MY culture, MY heritage and I get ticked off when it’s misrepresented, even if a little bit. I know Elsie relied on consultants but I’m asking myself when the last time was they set foot on Brazilian soil….
I’ll explain:
1 -That “te vivo” NONSENSE. That’s not Portuguese. I know Elsie tries to explain it, but to us, speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, it’s just plain weird. PERIOD. I did my research, asked around, and apparently, this is from a Luan Santana song (who’s not exactly the artist I’d pick to represent Brazilian music, if you catch my drift). NO ONE uses that as a form of endearment here, and believe me, I asked. It took me away from the story every single time Theo said this nonsense.
2 -We have a world renowned local cuisine. You all have hear of Brazilian churrascarias at least. Our national dish is Feijoada and the national drink is Caipirinha. We have moqueca, bobó… all dishes that I have cooked myself in the US and Canada buying ingredients at the “ethnic” aisle at the supermarket. So when I saw Theo cooking “estrogonofe de frango” (the culinary cultural equivalent of freaking meatloaf), I cringed. If I served that as “Brazilian food”, my mother would raise from the grave, hit me with a cookbook upside the head and ask if I was raised in a barn..
Sigh… I freaking loved this book but these things ticked me off immensely. I eyeball read in it fear because I knew that that “Te vivo” foolishness would trip any narrator. Apparently, it did, or so I have been told.
Again, I loved this book. I am not bashing the author. I’m sure the consultant was speaking from the heart, but the whole thing was just “off”. Still gave it 5 stars, but I’m annoyed that my whole review had to be about this…
Welcome to my TED Talk.
