All the Crooked Saints Kindle Edition

Let me start by saying that Maggie Stiefvater's Raven boy series is one of my favorites. I had been eagerly looking forward to this latest book of hers (All the Crooked Saints). And when I started reading it I wasn't sure that I could push through to finish it. But I felt like it might be worth it to persevere so I began by reading it in sips (Not my usual approach). It was difficult to get into for two reasons. The first was because there are so many characters all at once with so many little stories and you don't really care about any of them yet. The second was that the very nature of the book is massively unusual. It is written in a tall tale style. It reminded me of Maniac McGee (the book) and Paul Bunyan and the dream weaving in the Raven boy series. It is essentially an endless series of pataphors (a metaphor made real that takes on a reality of its own). This technique was also similar to the book The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Magic in books is often more significant when it conveys insights into the characters. That is what is happening here. But reading it was difficult because each sentence and description and magical exaggeration or transformation has meaning and you have to think about it and you still aren't really invested in the characters.And then I began to understand what she was getting at, what the book wanted to convey and I wanted to know would it end in a hopeful message? (Spoilers after this point proceed at your own risk...)The moment that I started to understand was when I saw the miracles that had been performed on the guests at Bicho Raro. I had been misled by the word miracle. What happens to the people is that their darkness, their inner demons/ deepest flaws, are made tangible and visible to others. But there is a problem because they often cannot understand how to undo this transformation. So they are stuck in their chrysalis form, unable to transform because they still do not see or understand what their problem is and how to be different.This book is essentially about psychology, and whether people are ultimately responsible for changing themselves or whether they need guidance. It is about healing through sharing of stories and acceptance. It is about whether we can be helped by people who don't have the wisdom to understand themselves yet. What is therapy? Is it the holding up of a mirror to the patient until they see themselves fully? Is it about the strength of will to survive these truths? Is it a desire to truly change, finally? Is it about the wisdom or kindness of the therapist? Is it love? Is it forgiveness of and kindness to yourself? These are the questions that this book addresses. It doesn't give you all the answers, it doesn't delve very deeply into truly dark conflicts, but it makes you think.It was worth reading even if the first part had to be pushed through like molasses. And it is the most unique book that I have read in a while and I read a lot.

I cannot deny that this is an engaging story once you get into it. Maggie Stiefvater always writes interesting characters that draw the reader in, and blended with the fascinating and often magical world, makes for a story that is very difficult to put down.This is the story of a Mexican American family with an unusual and devastating family gift (and curse,) and the younger generation’s pirate radio, of all things. Beatriz, who believes that she has no feelings; her cousin Joaquin, who has dreams much bigger than his family’s famous compound; outsider Pete, who is just there for the truck, the rest of the Soria family and the pilgrims who came to them in the Colorado desert in the 1960s, eventually come to confront individual issues large and small with the help of a little music.It took me, I discovered at the end, three years to read this book. Shortly after I bought it, I set it aside to do other things, and then there came a lot of controversy surrounding the specific culture in which the story is set. I cannot comment on that because I am also an outsider. I will say that it made it tough to love this story as much as the Raven Boys, and that is a shame.In the end, I will say this was a good read. It is unfortunate that it also feels like it could have been more. There are ways that the story may have been enriched. Instead it is left feeling slightly divorced of the community that made it possible.

Maggie Stiefvater has a fantastic ability to create interesting characters and then slowly making you love them. This book is another amazing example of that. I loved the miracles, hope, love, owls and rooster of this story. It was set in a place that I don't relate too with beliefs that are not mine but by the end of the book I felt like they could be. It is so well written.I marked a large stack of quotes from this book, because I just love how Stiefvater words things. Here are a few of my favorites."No one wanted to see their darkness made manifest, but the reality was it could not be fought until you saw its shape.""Pete put his voice right by Beatriz's ear so that his breath warmed her skin and he began to sing. It has nothing extravagant, just Patsy Cline sung in his low and uneven voice, and they began to dance. It was very quiet. No one else would have seen it if not for the desert. But when the desert heard Pete Wyatt singing a love song, it took notice. The desert loved him, after all, and wanted him happy.""He remained as calm as he possibly could, so calm the rooster would be able to feel this serenity and adopt it for itself, or at the very least, to prevent anger from turning to fear.""She found it depressing, how fast memories were replaced by rumors. Tragedy left behind such subtle artifacts.""Humans are drawn to hope as owls are drawn to miracles. It only takes the suggestion of it to stir them up and the eagerness lingers for a while even when all traces of it are gone."

Different in tone from her other work, more mature, more thematical in so many ways, but just as rich in beautifully crafted language and emotional connection. Makes one ask what shape one's darkeness might take, and what internal revelation might help vanquish it. The one thing I most want? The one thing I most fear? Would I willingly face my darkness? Would I trust myself to face the solution? Would I allow others' help?

Beautifully written, it feels like a rich dream all along. Th characters are complex and so well defined. The language is amazing, very poetic.

Fantastic read. Stiefvater at her very best.

This is a pretty great standalone. BUY IT ALREADY

Item as expected.