With the backdrop of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Puerto Rico, this lyrical novel was rich with history and pain but also endurance and beauty.

This story pulls no punches and is graphic but if you are into learning more about the history of Puerto Rico and the lives of slaves, you will want to read this.

I read this book so long ago and it gave me pause. Not because it was bad but because it was dangerous. Slave trade in Puerto Rico… the slave trade in Puerto Rico. I feel like this book was romanticized.

Don’t get me wrong, the trauma is there. The horrors are there. But, the slave/master relationship was for lack of a better word “gross”. Yes I know not all slave masters were evil beings that that tortured and maimed, but this book made it look too good to be true. It was not realistic. It was mostly ick and my wondering what our main character was trying to endure.

2.5/5 stars

Wow! This was an aspect of history I had no idea about. I am ready to learn more about it now. I love when books can teach me something new. And while I loved that, I did struggle with this book. I started it multiple times as I wasn’t getting “grabbed” and it felt a little long. That said, it was a fantastic book that walked a delicate balance of the real horrors while keeping you reading because of the love.

I had seen tons of raving review for this book but what I didn't expect is the emotion you would feel while reading this. I knew it was about slavery but the way it was written made you FEEL for the characters.

I have never read a story that was based solely on slavery and all that could and has happened to those people who suffered so this was not necessarily a nice way into it but, well, a nice way into it. It is respectful.

Pola had to go through trials and has been beat down in the worst of ways and while you think this could be a story of giving up, it is the opposite. It is about healing. Healing on her own and healing with those who surround her with love and understanding.

While this is tough subject matter I think everyone could benefit from reading it!
The writing style and world building this author used was excellent!

I tried a few times to pick this up and read it but I just couldn't get past the first quarter of the book.. I appreciate the opportunity for an advanced copy.

A beautiful contradiction of harrowing and inspiriting historical fiction novel, A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa is a monumental novel. This book will consume you as a reader and incite a viewpoint that could never be parted from your memory.

A Woman of Endurance is a historical fiction novel that takes place during the intercontinental Slave Trade, more primarily in the haciendas of Puerto Rico. This premise being a rarely depicted one in any sort of media yet this harrowing story of enslaved individuals should be a required read for all historical fiction fans.

POLA STRIPPED AWAY FROM THE MOTHERLAND
The story primarily follows Pola and her journey from being forceful stolen from her motherland, to the torturous journey to Puerto Rico. After being beaten to the brink of death by her most recent owner, Pola is sold to another. She awakens in the new hacienda and days pass and she recovers more than physically.

Pola’s interpersonal journey is one that is fully immersive one. The way Llanos-Figueroa penned this story with heavy and guttural details and also evokes a complicated array of emotions truly leave me in awe as a reader. What a story teller Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa is, just wow.


At first Pola’s righteous rage (waking in the new hacienda) is truly the drive of the story. As well as the lush details of the island, the coquis creaking at night, the earthy smells set such a powerful back drop that rivals Pola’s character development. She is deep with stories that each alternating chapter reveals. Some chapters show the past, others are the “present.” Her suffering comes from many places, but the most prominent haunting is being used a breeding slave. Never having the opportunity to meet or grow to love her babies, as they were snatched away from her as soon as they were born. The vacant hole this leaves in her soul is the fuel to her pain, the pain she spews whoever she crosses path with.

POLA’S RECOVERY
“We all carry our nightmares in unspoken places. The details are different, but the outcome is the same. They want to steal our humanity, to ease the weight into their own souls. Don’t you let them.”

As best as Pola could recover in those circumstances, is where the magic of this book resides. She is so scorned at first, rightfully so. As she spends more time in this new hacienda, Pola learns how to take her past as lessons in wisdom. She also learns what friendship can achieve. Each slow interpersonal moment in Pola’s journey is worthy of experiencing with her as a reader.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa truly crafted a monumental story. All the vivid details made reading A Woman of Endurance an HD reading experience, I was so immersed in every chapter, completely tuned in to the slightest nuanced moment. Dripping with what I know has to be truth this book may be fiction, but Pola and so many other’s experience written in here is explicitly the truth. With so very little books or media telling the complicated history of the intercontinental Slave Trade, especially regarding to Puerto Rico, I absolutely know the rare gem I hold in my hands with this novel. I will never be the same because of what A Woman of Endurance has taught me.


I encourage all who love historical fiction that depicts hidden and unspoken moments of history to pick up A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa.

If you would like to grab your own copy of A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa check out the options here.

Pola’s life was a quite a journey.

This story was painful but there was a measure of satisfaction that there was some joy for Paola.
Reading stories about the slave trade and the suffering that African slaves endured as breeders for slave owners and the cruelty they suffered just never sits well with my soul. The writing was visceral so i found it hard to get through without putting it down.
It always hurts but important to remember. Simon was such a special man. I’m glad they healed some parts of their lives with the love.

As a Puerto Rican this book has given me so much history that I wasn't aware of. At times the story can be hard to stomach but it was so worth every second. it is so detailed, intricate i loved it

Really well written story of a hidden part of history. The beginning was hard to read but handled well by the author.

I made it about a quarter of the way through this story. It’s an important story, that needs to be told. I just couldn’t continue at this time.

This review is as long and rambly as my thoughts about this book. Tl;dr: it was so close to being something amazing, but fell into some tropes southerners are way too used to hearing fall from racist lips as justification of enslavement (echoing 1840s rhetoric of slavery as a moral good). This is about how it comes across in reading and not any personal opinion of the author. I see fans of Gone With the Wind gushing over this, and people who like strong women characters who preservere and overcome odds, etc. I worry about so many getting their knowledge of enslavement in Puerto Rico completely from this book.

We need more stories about enslavement that doesn't match Southern US stereotypes. More in the Caribbean as well. This tries to do that. It wants to show the moments of joy grasped by the enslaved during their oppression and their resilience and humanity in the face of dehumanization. There is good, valuable stuff here. Pola (Keera) has an amazing journey and character rebirth. It has a character who is an enslaved Muslim, something quite common that many never consider.

But...
It fails by falling into some dangerous tropes with oh so much baggage. How to show an enslaved woman's strength without implying that it's so much about the "good master?" Racists love to tote that one out about how life was decent under a good master. This work ends on nearly that exact note. It even has near destruction of the plantation that the mistress leads the people into resurrecting.

There are horrors for sure. But all of the trauma of enslavement is put in just a few places - the Middle Passage, the first plantation where our protagonist was enslaved, and a sadistic overseer. Her "good" enslavers protect her from the overseer, get her out of the fields, care and find use for Simon after injury rather than selling him, and even provide anachronistic fancy clothes for the final celebration.

There are also dangers among the enslaved community, which they handle among themselves. This portion deserves better treatment and more attention in stories in general. Here, the outcomes are mostly facile. Not enough is explained. Enslaved woman goes crazy after being ostracized and wanders off, never to be heard from again? In a story that talks of the time, effort, and money that went into recovering this "lost propery?" How could this have worked in the very real scenario that you are mostly stuck with each other unless someone else decides that you aren't? The handling of Celestina did a much better job with this, relying on enslaved women's knowledge and blancos biases and assumptions.

Meanwhile, other details get too much attention. Random BDSM scene? Very convenient magical realism mostly needed for a single plot point?

I get that some of this is about the enslaved people's lack of knowledge. Pola will never know any more about what happened to Chachita, for example. Other things just felt like outliers to the story that distracted. The main issue is the relationship between enslaver and enslaved and that rhetoric. Overall, this is a knife's edge to walk and it almost, but didn't quite, work.

I love that this isn't something I have read about before. I'm going to keep an eye out for this author in the future.

I really wanted to like this novel because it seemed like a very emotional read. However, there were many disturbing scenes that made me uncomfortable. Still, I recommend this for fans of Vanessa Riley, Barbara Chase-Ribould, and Toni Morrison.

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*
4.75 Stars
This is such a powerful book surrounding slavery in Puerto Rico.
I've only been taught and read about American slavery. It was a good change to read about slavery in another place. Although the stories may be similar, there's still a lot we can learn about those who suffered during those years,
Pola is our MC and you root for her the whole time. She has been through so much and is learning to trust throughout the book. I also loved Simón and how he cared for Pola. Ruffina was another character that I loved, she also supported Pola on her journey to find her soul again.
My heart broke for Chichita! To see Pola become a mother figure for hear was written so well, my heart swelled.

If you liked Yellow Wife, you'll definitely like this one as well. I highly recommend this book!

This slave narrative is a little different then most. This one takes place in Puerto Rico. A young girl named Pola is captured in Africa and was brought over during the Atlantic slave trade. Although the story contains a lot of triggering scenes, it was such a well written and emotional story. The cover drew me in at first, and then as I started reading, the story took over and transported me into another world. I lost the amount of times I cried while reading it. It tugged at my heartstrings and these characters will stick with me for a while. I will definately be on the lookout for more books from this author.

Tough read. There are parts that while not graphic, the writing infers the abuse. It is one instance after another. And while this reflects a Puerto Rican slave, the abuse is familiar to me from other nonfiction and historical fiction books. The synopsis says it all.

I found myself conflicted with the ending, and days later I'm still wondering how the ending would be if this were a history book.

Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request to read and review A Woman of Endurance.

This book was extremely emotional and touching. I had physical reactions to Pola describing losing her babies shortly after birth. The ending of the book was not quite as satisfying as I would have liked for such an emotional journey.

Much like my rating my thoughts are also somewhere in-between.
On the one hand I instantly felt for Pola and wanted to know her story, hoping for the best for her. On the other, there were moments that I just did not care for her story, mainly because it felt like nothing was happening. I should clarify that it wasn't her story that bored me but the many tangents about everyone else she interacted with. It often felt like it would have better played off as multiple short stories surrounding Pola's life.

“When are you going to see that the only way we can carry our burdens is to share them?”

Lola, the woman once called Keera has many reasons to be closed off emotionally, and definitely reason to be bitter and angry at everyone. I am glad that I kept reading and now understand that the details were important to knowing her full journey. In the beginning the author disclosed Lola’s broken spirit. The reader gets to see Lola at a point where she had given up and commits herself to the sea. The hurt and damage due to inhumane conditions and treatment, along with the deplorable brutality in the cold hearts of many men that surely can break a person physically, mentally and emotionally. 

The author’s writing is impeccable. The content matter is one that can be hard to read but the author’s words were with grace and shared so poetically. The untranslated Spanish phrases and words made me feel closer to the story. The purposeful word choice painted a picture that fit and flowed very well. Reading Pola’s story I felt an emotional pull. Reading about the social structure within slavery acknowledged that there’s some freedom only our mind can give us.

I loved seeing Pola’s strength and how the events became clearer and everything fell into place for her. It has been a long journey, a journey that has taught Pola the greatest lesson of all, how to endure. What a treat for readers to see the damaged and broken Pola evolve to find security, to being loved and mostly she come to terms with those she lost or that were taken from her while on her journey.

Being enslaved it’s often that families are formed outside of blood ties. So this story is not only about Pola but those that accepted Pola, those that were patience while she healed. Those that offered her a family, and support , and that helped fill the emptiness that use to consume her. Pola has dwelt in the darkness for long enough and now she only needs to make a little space for others to enter and grow.

My takeaway from this book is we can get stuck in grief and loss, we have to face and address our hurts and we need the community of others to survive.

Reading about the enslavement of Africans is such a hard thing to do whether fiction or non fiction, but it’s something that I endure because I learn more about my ancestors, my community, and myself. I appreciate this story because there are little to no fictional stories on the lives of enslaved Africans in Puerto Rico.
Though I enjoyed reading this overall, there were times when I felt like the dialogue was too modern for the time that the story was written. There was an instant where 2 ladies were arguing and one proclaims, “you’ve got the wrong one!” Though this may have been something said during the late 19th century, it struck me as odd because I’ve never read dialogue like this during this time period in other novels. There were plot lines that I feel like were dropped and rushed, but not enough that they took away from the narrative.
Even though this wasn’t a book that I couldn’t put down, it was still a good novel.