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The Family Izquierdo
A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of 2022
Longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award
A masterful debut that weaves together the lives of three generations of a Mexican American family bound by love, and a curse. The tight-knit Izquierdo family is grappling with misfortunes none of them can explain. Their beloved patriarch has suffered from an emotional collapse and is dying; eldest son Gonzalo’s marriage is falling apart; daughter Dina, beleaguered by the fear that her nightmares are real, is a shut-in. When Gonzalo digs up a strange object in the backyard of the family home, the Izquierdos take it as proof that a jealous neighbor has cursed them―could this be the reason for all their troubles? As the Izquierdos face a distressing present and an uncertain future, they are sustained by the blood that binds them, a divine presence, and an abiding love for one another. Told in a series of soulful voices brimming with warmth and humor, The Family Izquierdo is a tender narrative of a family at a turning point.
Longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award
A masterful debut that weaves together the lives of three generations of a Mexican American family bound by love, and a curse. The tight-knit Izquierdo family is grappling with misfortunes none of them can explain. Their beloved patriarch has suffered from an emotional collapse and is dying; eldest son Gonzalo’s marriage is falling apart; daughter Dina, beleaguered by the fear that her nightmares are real, is a shut-in. When Gonzalo digs up a strange object in the backyard of the family home, the Izquierdos take it as proof that a jealous neighbor has cursed them―could this be the reason for all their troubles? As the Izquierdos face a distressing present and an uncertain future, they are sustained by the blood that binds them, a divine presence, and an abiding love for one another. Told in a series of soulful voices brimming with warmth and humor, The Family Izquierdo is a tender narrative of a family at a turning point.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2022
95 people are currently reading
6492 people want to read
About the author
Ruben Degollado
5 books70 followersRubén Degollado was born in Indiana, but is from McAllen, Texas, where the majority of his family has lived for generations. His fiction has appeared in Bilingual Review/Revista Bilingüe, Beloit Fiction Journal, Gulf Coast, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Image, Relief, and the anthologies Texas Short Stories, Fantasmas and Bearing the Mystery. He has been a finalist in American Short Fiction’s annual contest, Glimmer Train’s Family Matters Contest, and Bellingham Review’s 2010 Tobias Wolff Award and has been Image journal's Artist of the Month. His first novel, THROW, is forthcoming from Slant Books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
July 9, 2025
I really tried my hardest.
September 29, 2022
An endearing family saga filled with trials and tension, but also overflowing with faith and love. Each perspective is earnest, in depth, and contains inner struggles as well as triumphs, it is so easy to have an affection for each character, even while recognizing their flaws. The style is as believable as it is beautiful, the Family Izquierdo is an ode to family, to choices, to forgiveness, and to breaking curses. A very rewarding read.
September 17, 2022
Ruben Degollado's The Family Izquierdo has been one of my favorite reads this year. It's a novel/short story collection that recounts events in the lives of three generations of a South Texas latin@ family. Papa Tavo (short for Gustavo), the patriarch, has worked his whole life to bring his family a level of security he never had growing up. Guadalupe, the matriarch, is deeply religious, a trait she's passed on to almost all of her many children—though that religiosity has taken them in many different direction. She has that gift of mothers who know that raising children isn't a project of replicating one's self; it's more planting an unknown seed and watching how it grows, loving it without trying to force it into a specific shape.
The Family Izquierdo has multiple narrators, members of each of the family's generations, which creates a kind of richness that would otherwise have been impossible. Two major threads run through this book. The first is the ongoing tensions and resolutions within this large extended family. Resentments and disagreements occur naturally, but over time they're also resolved naturally. The second is the family curse—purportedly the work of a neighbor across the street who is jealous of the family's size, strength, and working-class financial security.
Papa Tavo's declining mental health is seen as the initial, most significant evidence of the curse. The curse (or those events credited to the curse) is also manifested in other family members' concerns about their mental heath, a sort of agorophobia, and tensions within marriages. It's also complicated by different family members' religious perspectives on that curse. Some family members believe completely in the curse and the brujeria behind it. Others are dubious about the curse, but recognize that its manifestations are undeniably real. It also confirms and challenges the various Christian denominations family members embrace.
Degollado's depiction of life in South Texas and of the family's daily interactions is—as far as I can tell, since I am not latin@ and have never spent much time in South Texas—detailed and accurate. The specificity and recurrences of events within the family create a sense of normality that allows readers to enter the story and live within its events, even if the have little first-hand knowledge of Tejan@ experience. This isn't an outside-looking-in novel. It's a novel that pulls readers inside as members of the family, particularly because of the different internal musings the many characters contribute.
Degollado's The Family Izquierdo is an impressive addition to the literature of America-as-it-actually-exists as opposed to American literature depicts a narrower vision of American identity. Whether one sees one's self directly reflected in it or enters new territory while reading, The Family Izquierdo is a satisfying, life-affirming title—the kind of book that we can always use and enjoy more of.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own.
The Family Izquierdo has multiple narrators, members of each of the family's generations, which creates a kind of richness that would otherwise have been impossible. Two major threads run through this book. The first is the ongoing tensions and resolutions within this large extended family. Resentments and disagreements occur naturally, but over time they're also resolved naturally. The second is the family curse—purportedly the work of a neighbor across the street who is jealous of the family's size, strength, and working-class financial security.
Papa Tavo's declining mental health is seen as the initial, most significant evidence of the curse. The curse (or those events credited to the curse) is also manifested in other family members' concerns about their mental heath, a sort of agorophobia, and tensions within marriages. It's also complicated by different family members' religious perspectives on that curse. Some family members believe completely in the curse and the brujeria behind it. Others are dubious about the curse, but recognize that its manifestations are undeniably real. It also confirms and challenges the various Christian denominations family members embrace.
Degollado's depiction of life in South Texas and of the family's daily interactions is—as far as I can tell, since I am not latin@ and have never spent much time in South Texas—detailed and accurate. The specificity and recurrences of events within the family create a sense of normality that allows readers to enter the story and live within its events, even if the have little first-hand knowledge of Tejan@ experience. This isn't an outside-looking-in novel. It's a novel that pulls readers inside as members of the family, particularly because of the different internal musings the many characters contribute.
Degollado's The Family Izquierdo is an impressive addition to the literature of America-as-it-actually-exists as opposed to American literature depicts a narrower vision of American identity. Whether one sees one's self directly reflected in it or enters new territory while reading, The Family Izquierdo is a satisfying, life-affirming title—the kind of book that we can always use and enjoy more of.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own.
August 1, 2022
Families, it is said, are like branches on a tree. They grow in different directions ,yet their roots remain as one.
Meet the Izquierdo family. With my smattering of college Spanish, I know that izquierdo means from the left or left-handed. Who knew that it also meant “you have always been cursed”? Certainly, the Izquierdos feel that way. Papa Tavo, the family’s patriarch, believes strongly that his neighbor Emiliano Contreras has placed a curse on him and his family because of his jealousy of his fortune.
In reality? The Izquierdo family – and we meet various members of it, who take their place on the stage in linked chapters – is a colorful and imperfect mixture of disparate personalities that somehow morph into one unit with the same roots.
Ruben Degollado convincingly brings these family members to life: those who have fallen prey to the excesses of religion or superstition (which, in my mind, too often are one and the same), the struggles to claim one’s place in the family order, the jealousies and flirtations, the boisterous gatherings, the stories – some real, some invented – that ultimately define our history and who we are. And also the songs of courage, joy, and love that weave through the stories.
Despite the individual stories that distinguish each character, ultimately, it is the family that endures – whether it’s a family with several branches or “a nation of two.” My thanks to BookBrowse and W.W. Norton for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review (4.5 stars, rounded up).
Meet the Izquierdo family. With my smattering of college Spanish, I know that izquierdo means from the left or left-handed. Who knew that it also meant “you have always been cursed”? Certainly, the Izquierdos feel that way. Papa Tavo, the family’s patriarch, believes strongly that his neighbor Emiliano Contreras has placed a curse on him and his family because of his jealousy of his fortune.
In reality? The Izquierdo family – and we meet various members of it, who take their place on the stage in linked chapters – is a colorful and imperfect mixture of disparate personalities that somehow morph into one unit with the same roots.
Ruben Degollado convincingly brings these family members to life: those who have fallen prey to the excesses of religion or superstition (which, in my mind, too often are one and the same), the struggles to claim one’s place in the family order, the jealousies and flirtations, the boisterous gatherings, the stories – some real, some invented – that ultimately define our history and who we are. And also the songs of courage, joy, and love that weave through the stories.
Despite the individual stories that distinguish each character, ultimately, it is the family that endures – whether it’s a family with several branches or “a nation of two.” My thanks to BookBrowse and W.W. Norton for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review (4.5 stars, rounded up).
February 5, 2023
This wonderful novel tells the story of three generations of a Mexican American family, and beautifully describes their lives and culture – which I believe Ruben Delgollado captured absolutely perfectly. We see the lives of the first generation, who were immigrants, their children and their grandchildren. We watch their successes and failures, loves and despairs, challenges and victories, and we see all the cultural aspects of their everyday lives – from food to religion. There is humor and frustration. There are things that occur within the family as a result of their ethnicity, and there are things that occur within the family that can happen in all families in all cultures. My only warning is that there is quite a lot of untranslated Spanish in this novel – including idiomatic phrases. I loved that (but I am fluent in Spanish); however, if you don’t know Spanish, I don’t think this would be a good choice of you. For me, this is a very special, well done novel about South Texas.
July 29, 2022
What a great concept and execution! Meet the family Izquierdo (left handed/cursed). There's patriarch Tavo and his wife, daughter Dina, son Gonzalo and all are falling apart! Told via vignettes, we learn that there may very well be someone casting spells against them, that the Izquierdos are truly cursed. If you love a sprawling extended family story, dysfunctional tales of love and forgiveness, or just a raucous cacophony of voices speaking their truth - this story is for you!
#wwnortonco #wwnorton #Netgalley #Netgalleyreads #TheFamilyIzquierdo #Rubendegollado
#wwnortonco #wwnorton #Netgalley #Netgalleyreads #TheFamilyIzquierdo #Rubendegollado
March 6, 2023
I loved this collection of stories. I will say that I didn't realize it is interrelated stories until I saw the library listing for it on my account.
This is connected narratives of the Izquierdo family. I loved that we get the family history told from different perspectives. Many of the references to food, religion and family felt familiar to me.
I wasn't jazzed about the epilogue, but that's ok. The rest of the book really delivers.
This is connected narratives of the Izquierdo family. I loved that we get the family history told from different perspectives. Many of the references to food, religion and family felt familiar to me.
I wasn't jazzed about the epilogue, but that's ok. The rest of the book really delivers.
September 11, 2022
First off, as a Latina, I loved that this story focuses on a Latino family and the author integrated Spanish and slang throughout the dialogue of the characters. The story of the Izquierda Family and it’s eventual loss of patriarch, Papa Tavo, is told through vignettes about different family members and jumps timelines however it wasn’t difficult to follow. There were multiple relatable themes of religion, family tradition, family member dynamics to name just a few and perhaps not so relatable for everyone, belief in curses determining the fate of this family. It was an enjoyable read overall.
Thank you the NetGalley for advanced access.
Thank you the NetGalley for advanced access.
August 30, 2022
The Family Izquierdo is a multi-generational saga following three generations of the familia Izquierdo. The story is told as a series of vignettes.
I was immediately enamored with the Izquierdo family. There was a sense of uncanny familiarity - from the love of Tejano music, to Selena references to curses, food, brujeria and family dynamics. I couldn't help but relate to the dysfunctional family that is bound by both misfortune and love.
Growing up it was a reality that I wouldn't be able to relate to characters in books but this book made me feel seen. I loved it.
I was immediately enamored with the Izquierdo family. There was a sense of uncanny familiarity - from the love of Tejano music, to Selena references to curses, food, brujeria and family dynamics. I couldn't help but relate to the dysfunctional family that is bound by both misfortune and love.
Growing up it was a reality that I wouldn't be able to relate to characters in books but this book made me feel seen. I loved it.
July 19, 2022
The Family Izquierdo is a family saga focusing on the titular family in McAllen, Texas. Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective, making the story feel like one that has been passed down through the generations.
There is a lot to like here. Degollado does a great job of making each character distinct, despite the sheer number of family members. While it can be difficult to keep some of them straight at the beginning, it quickly becomes easier as the key players appear in subsequent chapters, and I never felt like I was reading the same life story about different characters. The prose itself is written well and flows easily from one chapter to the next, even when the timeline is making a jump, and I'm always a sucker for any stories about or set in Texas.
The two main things that didn't work for me essentially boiled down to what I was willing to believe. The first was pretty simple: a lot of the dialogue felt stilted, as though they weren't real people speaking the words. This was more obvious in the beginning chapters; I find it hard to believe that Papa Tavo and Abuelita just sat down and decided the day they arrived at their new home what they wanted their future grandkids to call them. It gets better as the book goes along, but there are still moments like this throughout.
It also took me a while to figure out that Contreras was actually (supposedly) casting spells against the Izquierdos; I thought this was just the family superstition for the majority of the book, but eventually you realize that it appears to actually be true (at least, true to all the characters on both sides of the issue). No one questions this for a second, even as unlikely as it seemed to me as a reader. I think it would have made for a stronger point if one of the family members doubted that Contreras was behind all the family's woes - then Degollado could easily set up how that character was wrong.
Overall, though, this was an interesting family story, and one I'd recommend for those interested in the genre. I'll be adding Degollado to my list of authors to look out for.
Thank you to W. W. Norton and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
There is a lot to like here. Degollado does a great job of making each character distinct, despite the sheer number of family members. While it can be difficult to keep some of them straight at the beginning, it quickly becomes easier as the key players appear in subsequent chapters, and I never felt like I was reading the same life story about different characters. The prose itself is written well and flows easily from one chapter to the next, even when the timeline is making a jump, and I'm always a sucker for any stories about or set in Texas.
The two main things that didn't work for me essentially boiled down to what I was willing to believe. The first was pretty simple: a lot of the dialogue felt stilted, as though they weren't real people speaking the words. This was more obvious in the beginning chapters; I find it hard to believe that Papa Tavo and Abuelita just sat down and decided the day they arrived at their new home what they wanted their future grandkids to call them. It gets better as the book goes along, but there are still moments like this throughout.
It also took me a while to figure out that Contreras was actually (supposedly) casting spells against the Izquierdos; I thought this was just the family superstition for the majority of the book, but eventually you realize that it appears to actually be true (at least, true to all the characters on both sides of the issue). No one questions this for a second, even as unlikely as it seemed to me as a reader. I think it would have made for a stronger point if one of the family members doubted that Contreras was behind all the family's woes - then Degollado could easily set up how that character was wrong.
Overall, though, this was an interesting family story, and one I'd recommend for those interested in the genre. I'll be adding Degollado to my list of authors to look out for.
Thank you to W. W. Norton and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
April 3, 2023
Review to come...
August 30, 2022
It was amazing to see south Texas represented so beautifully in The Family Izquierdo. I felt like I knew everyone, could smell and taste everything. It was smart and funny and moving...all the wonderful things!
June 27, 2022
I received an advanced reader's copy of this collection. It is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. Degollado does an amazing job of bringing out the different personalities of each family member in his storytelling. As a latina I relate so much to the stories of this family so much, as a Río Grande Valley resident I can picture the family, their homes, I can hear their voices; but as a reader and lover of books I follow the stories through this collection and am enthralled with this family. Whereas "Throw" spoke to a young adult audience, "The Family Izquierdo" speaks to a much wider audience and leaves the reader turning the page, racing to become a part of this family.
September 14, 2022
The Family Izquierdo
by Ruben Degollado
The patriarch, of this tight knit but imperfect family, is on his death bed. The family Izquierdo reflects on the past that has made them who they are, the present which at times seems dear but incomprehensible and of their hopes for future generations. The book is told as a collection of vignettes, which are intended to be experienced as if you are part of the family, sharing in the intimate stories, oral history and mythology of the Izquierdo’s. These are heartfelt tales of fortitude and resilience, successes and misfortunes, betrayals and forgiveness, miracles and curses as seen through the eyes of various family memembers. But mostly, these narratives are about the love that endures and binds them to one another.
In the author’s acknowledgements, he gives “thanks to the first people who lived in what we now call the Río Grande Valley of Texas, the Mexican Americans who lived here when it was still the country of their birth, and those who came after when it wasn’t.” These are stories that warmed my heart, made me laugh and deserve to be told. Reading parts of The Family Izquierdo made me feel nostalgic for an earlier time in my life. I felt like I was sitting around my mother’s table with all the tias making tortillas and spilling the latest family gossip, while my father and tios fired up the grill in the back yard. The stories, places, language, music and supernatural tales all felt like home. If these are not your roots, Degollado has opened the door for you and welcomes you to the table.
Add The Family Izquierdo to your Hispanic Heritage Month TBR! My genuine thanks to @NetGalley, @Ruben_Degollado and @WWNorton for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
by Ruben Degollado
The patriarch, of this tight knit but imperfect family, is on his death bed. The family Izquierdo reflects on the past that has made them who they are, the present which at times seems dear but incomprehensible and of their hopes for future generations. The book is told as a collection of vignettes, which are intended to be experienced as if you are part of the family, sharing in the intimate stories, oral history and mythology of the Izquierdo’s. These are heartfelt tales of fortitude and resilience, successes and misfortunes, betrayals and forgiveness, miracles and curses as seen through the eyes of various family memembers. But mostly, these narratives are about the love that endures and binds them to one another.
In the author’s acknowledgements, he gives “thanks to the first people who lived in what we now call the Río Grande Valley of Texas, the Mexican Americans who lived here when it was still the country of their birth, and those who came after when it wasn’t.” These are stories that warmed my heart, made me laugh and deserve to be told. Reading parts of The Family Izquierdo made me feel nostalgic for an earlier time in my life. I felt like I was sitting around my mother’s table with all the tias making tortillas and spilling the latest family gossip, while my father and tios fired up the grill in the back yard. The stories, places, language, music and supernatural tales all felt like home. If these are not your roots, Degollado has opened the door for you and welcomes you to the table.
Add The Family Izquierdo to your Hispanic Heritage Month TBR! My genuine thanks to @NetGalley, @Ruben_Degollado and @WWNorton for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
February 25, 2023
First of all, how dare Ruben Degollado give me all the feels with this novel told sort of in short stories
S/o to all the audiobook narrators for bringing this story to life. The mix of Spanish and English was a treat and made the story so much more real.
3 generaciones de Familia Izquierdo will be telling this incredible, charming and thought-provoking story.
The novel starts in the 50s when papa Tavo and his wife Guadalupe when they moved to McAllen TX. They’re able to instal a successful painting and dry wall business.. but all good things in life come with a side of mal ojo & according to papa Tabo their neighbor Emiliano Contreras who is a brujo and has cursed the Izquierdo Family due to jealousy will be the center topic of this story…or is it?
The fact that this story is About Family dynamic, a sense of community, mental health, superstitions, brujería AND Catholicism!?? Surely made this the perfect novel to read when you need to feel that as long as you have family around , no matter how dark your days may be, everything is gonna be alright.
S/o to all the audiobook narrators for bringing this story to life. The mix of Spanish and English was a treat and made the story so much more real.
3 generaciones de Familia Izquierdo will be telling this incredible, charming and thought-provoking story.
The novel starts in the 50s when papa Tavo and his wife Guadalupe when they moved to McAllen TX. They’re able to instal a successful painting and dry wall business.. but all good things in life come with a side of mal ojo & according to papa Tabo their neighbor Emiliano Contreras who is a brujo and has cursed the Izquierdo Family due to jealousy will be the center topic of this story…or is it?
The fact that this story is About Family dynamic, a sense of community, mental health, superstitions, brujería AND Catholicism!?? Surely made this the perfect novel to read when you need to feel that as long as you have family around , no matter how dark your days may be, everything is gonna be alright.
July 20, 2023
I bought this book because the cover is beautiful so I knew nothing about this book when I started it. I ended up really enjoying the story of this family and loved journeying with different members of the family. The book can seem disjointed at times but flows better when you understand it as a collection of short stories. There are also a lot of family members in the family tree who are never mentioned in the book. And, the epilogue seemed really random. I would have preferred for the book to end before it or for the epilogue to tie back more to the storylines in the main book. But, overall I really enjoyed the book.
August 31, 2022
Rubén Degollado gives an intimate portrayal of the life of a Mexican-American family in Texas that often hits close to home. Through interconnected short stories told from the points of view of various members of the Izquierdo family, Degollado weaves an overall story that is at once fantastical, emotional, and grounded in a reality that will feel heartbreakingly familiar to anyone who understands it. As a Mexican-American chicana myself, I can say with no level of over exaggeration that Degollado has spoken to my heart in a way that would be impossible for anyone who is not also Mexican-American. These are stories that deserve to be told -- that have always deserved to be told. I'm glad they finally are.
October 12, 2022
So here’s the thing- I didn’t technically finish this book. I had 3 pages left, and I left it in the back of a rental car. Let me explain….
So when I picked this book up and read all the “family epic” comparisons I thought: audacious, but don’t judge. Then after I started reading, the combination of seeing a family tree where 90% of the people were unmentioned and completely irrelevant and having to trudge through a story that seems like an unintended fever dream that, funny enough, doesn’t have anything to do with the cursed and confusing mania of the family with woven-in Spanglish *sucks in air* well, I ultimately thought: please end this. I barely got through but I had about 40 pages left.
I had to take a two week trip to the East Coast so I figured I’d definitely be able to finish it then, right? Nope. I tried. I tried so hard. I even took myself on field trips to MidPoint Books in Wayne, PA and The Strand in NYC to stock up on books that would entice me to power through this one. All I ended up doing was added another 20 pounds to my return luggage. Nothing was keeping me interested in this story whatsoever. And so I went all Freud on myself apparently and left it behind with only 3 pages to spare. The fact that I felt relief instead of anger when I realized it wasn’t in my bag at the terminal told me everything. Good riddance.
To the next driver of the Nissan Murano at Enterprise BWI’s rental car facility: BE WARY, DEAR TRAVELER. Save yourself the time.
2 Stars because as a transplant to TX, I will agree and say the grackles are friggin’ weird and scary. Think mangey crows who puff themselves up and hiss as their thing. FOH with that, devil bird.
This book in emojis:
👵🏽👴🏽🧙🏽♂️🏘🏡👨🏻🧑🏽👦🏽👩🏻🧒🏽👧🏻🚫⁉️❓❓❓🏕❓
So when I picked this book up and read all the “family epic” comparisons I thought: audacious, but don’t judge. Then after I started reading, the combination of seeing a family tree where 90% of the people were unmentioned and completely irrelevant and having to trudge through a story that seems like an unintended fever dream that, funny enough, doesn’t have anything to do with the cursed and confusing mania of the family with woven-in Spanglish *sucks in air* well, I ultimately thought: please end this. I barely got through but I had about 40 pages left.
I had to take a two week trip to the East Coast so I figured I’d definitely be able to finish it then, right? Nope. I tried. I tried so hard. I even took myself on field trips to MidPoint Books in Wayne, PA and The Strand in NYC to stock up on books that would entice me to power through this one. All I ended up doing was added another 20 pounds to my return luggage. Nothing was keeping me interested in this story whatsoever. And so I went all Freud on myself apparently and left it behind with only 3 pages to spare. The fact that I felt relief instead of anger when I realized it wasn’t in my bag at the terminal told me everything. Good riddance.
To the next driver of the Nissan Murano at Enterprise BWI’s rental car facility: BE WARY, DEAR TRAVELER. Save yourself the time.
2 Stars because as a transplant to TX, I will agree and say the grackles are friggin’ weird and scary. Think mangey crows who puff themselves up and hiss as their thing. FOH with that, devil bird.
This book in emojis:
👵🏽👴🏽🧙🏽♂️🏘🏡👨🏻🧑🏽👦🏽👩🏻🧒🏽👧🏻🚫⁉️❓❓❓🏕❓
July 28, 2024
This was a random pull off the shelf, I was intrigued by the description and was not disappointed! I loved the writing style with vignettes of different family members’ perspectives on different events in family lore, and the character development was phenomenal. I felt like I was actually immersed in the scenes with the carefully written sensory descriptions, but they weren’t so heavy that the text was hard to get through. The Izquierdos felt so relatable with their big extended family full of characters- forced relationships with in-laws that don’t see eye to eye, siblings trying to move past old spats, cousins who idolize and judge each other, spouses who see each other’s potential, aunties who gossip and uncles who egg each other on. It’s so much more than a story about a cursed family- it’s a story about life.
October 4, 2022
I will start out that I absolutely love the cover of this book, it is very beautiful. In working on trying to learn Spanish, I really enjoyed the bilingual language of this book. At times, I looked up phrases and words and other times I just read along and enjoyed the language. I love the author's descriptiveness and I enjoyed the setting and the storytelling. I did however struggle to follow along with the plot and storyline, and I found it difficult to easily identify the main characters.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 17, 2023
A novel in short stories. They nicely evoked the individuals' family ties and unique perspectives. A fair bit of the book was devoted to religion and spirituality: miracles and dark magic, Catholicism and charismatic Christianity (?). I was more interested in the relationships between parents, parents and children, cousins, sisters-in-law, etc. Those were the stories that kept my attention the most.
p.s. Beautiful cover.
p.s. Beautiful cover.
December 7, 2024
I’ve met very few books in my life that have felt so much like a part of me.
The insight and tenderness with which each character and their accompanying perspective is written is vulnerable and powerful and unique.
This family, their life, their beliefs and their history felt like they were pulling from snippets of my own childhood and memories.
I will read anything else Ruben Degollado writes.
The insight and tenderness with which each character and their accompanying perspective is written is vulnerable and powerful and unique.
This family, their life, their beliefs and their history felt like they were pulling from snippets of my own childhood and memories.
I will read anything else Ruben Degollado writes.
November 23, 2025
I am at a lost for words on how to start this review, nothing can properly articulate how breathtaking this book was in concept and execution. It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read (*listened) to this year, if not point blank period. For me specifically, listening was especially helpful in terms of pronunciation of Spanish words; the book has sentences here and there that aren’t translated but give generous context and as a girl reconnecting & learning (reforming if you will) from being a no sabo kid, hearing the Spanish bits aloud was helpful beyond belief. There’s some time jumping, but our story is primarily set in the last few years before the patriarch of the Izquierdo family passes away, how the curses of a brujo has impacted generations of the family, all narrated directly from the source (more like sources). The story has multiple narrators: from abuelos to comadres to multiple primos that you begin to feel like a part of the family. As we learn more about how the past impacted the present and the different experiences of varying family members, we’re taken through the wonders and woes of life, the complex and intricate histories that shape us (the us in question being the Mexican American diaspora across generations). It cannot be stated enough how diverting the different formats in the ways we’d hear from our narrators were, I was indignant on behalf of my inherited tías, crying harder than I previously thought possible from a book (in longing for connection, in awe of the immediate understanding of things I’ve yet to experience or witness, the importance of family, you name it I probably cried over it in this book), and laughed right along side the rest of the family. Truly such an artfully and wonderfully done book an easy 5 stars from me and contender for favorite book of the year.
July 19, 2024
I enjoyed The Family Izquierdo, but it was a slow burn. It took me a while to get into this collection of linked short stories, a format I don’t usually like, but here it allowed each character a voice and perspective which worked well to tell the tale of this family. I feel privileged to have had a window into this world of Mexican culture via Texas. It was beautiful, magical, and showcased people of real faith and belief that was refreshingly different from sterile Americana. But make no mistake, there is also diversity of views and faiths even within this family. I especially love how border logic is shown as problematic because branches of the Izquierdo family live on both sides of the Rio Grande and cross it often. Then later, we see how patriarch, Octavio Izquierdo, also known as Papa Tavo, loves his family and takes great pride in his hard work which supports his loved ones. He is also fascinated with maps, which brings the theme of borders to the forefront again. This book is the story of a Mexican (or Texican?) family, but in it, the author also covers universal themes that affect us all—the harm done by jealousy in the form of a family curse set off by a neighbor and the decline of Papa Tavo, his slipping into dementia (which could be due to the curse or just the way things are for many of us). The fact that we can come up with our own answers to these questions is a perfect example of magic realism, where there is always a rational and a magical answer to every question, the author offering no definitive answer. I think my favorite characters were Marisol and Dina. In this book, there is a character for every reader to identify with, and that is where the pleasure lies. The Family Izquierdo is definitely a worthwhile read.
February 23, 2025
I really wanted to like this. If I know that there is an RGV author who publishes a book, I will always buy it, but I did not like this one.
The usage of spanglish did not vibe with me. When I'm reading a spanglish book, I do not want to read the translation in the following sentence. Let the spanglish speak for itself. People can use Google translate. Which leads to another thing I did not like, it didn't feel like the book was made for me (aka someone from the RGV) because of the extra explanations. Iykyk what "sana sana colita de rana" is or you can Google it.
I also did not like the treatment of mental health in this book. Instead of promoting the use of mental health services, the mental health struggles of all the family was just explained away with a curse. The latino community already believes psychologists are a bunch of quacks, what are we trying to promote here. I wish the book would have leaned in more to the magic or not used the curse at all. The curse was brought up when it was convenient.
The usage of spanglish did not vibe with me. When I'm reading a spanglish book, I do not want to read the translation in the following sentence. Let the spanglish speak for itself. People can use Google translate. Which leads to another thing I did not like, it didn't feel like the book was made for me (aka someone from the RGV) because of the extra explanations. Iykyk what "sana sana colita de rana" is or you can Google it.
I also did not like the treatment of mental health in this book. Instead of promoting the use of mental health services, the mental health struggles of all the family was just explained away with a curse. The latino community already believes psychologists are a bunch of quacks, what are we trying to promote here. I wish the book would have leaned in more to the magic or not used the curse at all. The curse was brought up when it was convenient.
January 8, 2023
Instead of an intergenerational family saga, à la One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Family Izquierdo is a collection of short stories that happened to have the loose thread of the Izquierdo family curse to connect them. Be aware of that going in!
The overarching plot and anecdotes were interesting enough. The epilogue felt like a complete non sequitur, told from the perspective of one of the cousins and his previously unmentioned wife in a completely different location that does not really tie back into the main story. I guess the implication was that the family curse wasn't really broken (?), but the epilogue still felt disjointed and out of place. Characters were fine (my personal favorite was Dina), but there was a question that kept nagging me after I finished it. I don't get why, if the family is so large, the book isn't told from all of their perspectives. Why have ten siblings to write about if you're only gonna focus on five and mention the rest in passing? A bit odd, if you ask me.
I appreciate that the author didn't cater to non-Spanish speakers by incorporating conversations in full-blown Spanish dialogue, which did force me to pick up Google Translate and actively engage with the book. Good on you, Ruben. That being said, some of the Mexican slang in here was untranslatable, so I also had to learn to just roll with the punches. I imagine there is a lot of personal truth to this story for the author and the Tejano Mexican-American experience, not bad for a debut literary novel. Also, super cool cover!
The overarching plot and anecdotes were interesting enough. The epilogue felt like a complete non sequitur, told from the perspective of one of the cousins and his previously unmentioned wife in a completely different location that does not really tie back into the main story. I guess the implication was that the family curse wasn't really broken (?), but the epilogue still felt disjointed and out of place. Characters were fine (my personal favorite was Dina), but there was a question that kept nagging me after I finished it. I don't get why, if the family is so large, the book isn't told from all of their perspectives. Why have ten siblings to write about if you're only gonna focus on five and mention the rest in passing? A bit odd, if you ask me.
I appreciate that the author didn't cater to non-Spanish speakers by incorporating conversations in full-blown Spanish dialogue, which did force me to pick up Google Translate and actively engage with the book. Good on you, Ruben. That being said, some of the Mexican slang in here was untranslatable, so I also had to learn to just roll with the punches. I imagine there is a lot of personal truth to this story for the author and the Tejano Mexican-American experience, not bad for a debut literary novel. Also, super cool cover!
December 15, 2022
This wonderful novel describes the lives of 3 generations of the Izquierdo family of Mexico and South Texas. It’s told in a variety of voices. We learn of their relationships and tensions as well as Hispanic culture. This is a novel of love, faith and empathetic characters. However, there are also tragedies and one wonders if the family is cursed. Loved this one.
November 28, 2022
A love letter to my home. The author did an amazing job giving depth and heart to each character. The short stories made me think of and miss my family and the RGV where I grew up. I enjoyed the themes of aging, breaking family curses, and religion. I look forward to rereading this in the future.
December 16, 2022
I did not know it was a collection of short stories. I am not really a big fan on short stories, as I do enjoy a flow in plot. Some of the stories were good, but a decent amount were boring to me. I also did not understand the epilogue. I feel like this book wasn't the type of short story for me.
July 29, 2023
An interesting read! Told from dozens of different perspectives over three generations of a family, the fear of maldiciones running through the family’s blood was so interesting to follow. Loved hearing from so manny of the different family members!
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