✨ Review ✨ Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel A. Olivas; narrated by Thom Rivera

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

In this adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Olivas brings us to a near-future world which cadavers can be reanimated to fill in gaps in an aging workforce. These reanimated people retain their skills from previous lives but lose all of their memories and connection to the past.

The main character, who is never named and referred to only as The Man, is a paralegal who's just starting to date a lawyer named Faustina. The book tracks their growing connection as he starts to see glimmers of memories in his time with Faustina. Simultaneously, a presidential candidate seeks to secure her reelection by pursuing a campaign of "Make American Safe Again" to move toward making "stitchers" (a slur for the reanimated) illegal.

One of my favorite parts of the book were Faustina's ruminations on culture and family. When she's making chilaquiles, talking about how she makes minor tweaks the recipe, but she can't innovate too much without her mom taking notice! Her Mexican mom and Jewish stepdad brought so much light and life into this story.

The book blends horror and sci-fi with satire and romance. The audio is a pretty short five and a half hours -- perfect to pull you into this world without it dragging on!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: horror, sci-fi, satire
Setting: California in a near-future world
Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
Pub Date: 05 Mar 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ political satire
⭕️ retellings of classics in the modern world
⭕️ pan dulce and chilaquiles
⭕️ a growing relationship without being overly romance-y

This was an interesting book unlike any other I've read before. Reimagining Frankenstein has been done multiple times before of course, but this was an original take that used the familiar tale as a metaphor for the current political climate - both in the USA and elsewhere. The characters were realistic and interesting, the plot was as believable as this futuristic sci-fi/fantasy world could make it, and the ending was satisfying and ever-so-slightly open-ended, leaving you wondering what happens next!

This was such a fascinating read. An excellent blend of the inane, sci fi and current events.
Inspired primarily by Shelley’s famous novel and current US politics, Olivas brings us the story of an unnamed protagonist in near future California. Our protagonist is a reanimated human stitched together out of 3 people, he has no memory of his past and lives a fairly rigid life, until he meets the lovely, but blunt, Faustina. As his relationship with Faustina develops the man starts to really question his origins and what it means to be human, and loved. He explores this and it leads to a somewhat unfinished but mostly happy ending though it seems storm clouds are gathering at the periphery, leading the reader to make inferences, and ponder for themselves current events through a new lens of understanding. Perfect reading as the US enters what is sure to be another difficult election cycle.

This was an interesting and modern take on the Frankenstein story and I enjoyed it a lot. It also threw in some current prejudices ala Trupmist thinking and acting. Anything different from the white-male-status quo is not to be tolerated. I can totally see this happening today if we were able to "Frankenstein" bodies!

This was my 1st book by Daniel A. Olivas but will not be my last!

#ChicanoFrankenstein
#NetGalley

This was outside of my usual comfort zone if only because it's set in the modern day in a world just like ours, except for one thing. I normally dislike this because I’m not good at suspending just a smidgeon of disbelief; I always want to suspend all of it. This though? Chicano Frankenstein? This slapped. There were so many parallels to be drawn beyween the realities of this world and ours. I loved that this book scattered transcriptions and children's books and other fun slices of worldbuilding between the meat of the story. The voice in this was also so distinctive and familiar; I felt like I knew these characters because I'd met them before. It was wonderful. If you loved Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, if you care about social justice, or if you love a good retelling of a classic story, this is the book for you.

rep: Latinx MC and LI, gay side characters of color

spice: none

tw: racism, hateful rhetoric

Thanks to Blackstone & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting, if weird, selection for me. It's definitely not something I would've felt drawn to ordinarily, but the beautiful cover caught me and the description piqued my interest.

In the near future, technology is developed whereby recently-deceased humans may be reanimated as part of an organ donor-type opt-in, with the intent to shore up a waning workforce (apparently robots/AI do not exist in this timeline). Our main character is one such person, having been reanimated after (we come to find) a car crash that mostly destroyed his left side; thus, our unnamed "stitcher" has a mismatched left hand that causes him much consternation (understandably). He is a simple man who enjoys basic human pastimes and comforts: sex, good food, hot showers, running. He is a paralegal and good at his job, and when we encounter him he has just begun to date an accomplished Latina lawyer named Faustina. Gradually, he starts to have some flashbacks when certain meals are served (perhaps inspiring childhood memories of chilaquiles and the mom who served them), and eventually he asks Faustina to come with him to meet the doctor who reanimated him.

Interspersed with these sweet domestic scenes are vignettes of a potentially lame-duck female (presumably Republican) president trying to claw back some power via midterm elections. She and her team decide to target the reanimated as a political tool ,not unlike others have done with illegal immigrants, as a means of gaining votes.

The reanimated citizens are an obvious stand-in for any oppressed group; "The Man," our MC, is doubly so because he is also Chicano. It's an interesting choice, and the book is a very simple, sweet story of a man in search of roots, but the wrap up is a little abrupt and The Man doesn't seem interested in much more info or continuing on his path after he completes his journey. It's nice that the love story is very positive and lovely, and while The Man struggles a bit against mild prejudice, it doesn't seem to bring him down (the incidents are really more micro-aggressive than anything). The descriptions of traditional Mexican food are wonderful, and Thom Rivera does a capable job with what amounts to a plot strung with a few character studies (not that I'm complaining; I would 100% read a book about Faustina).

Chicano Frankenstein was such a great surprise. I have not read Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein but knowing the gist of it I was very intrigued by this modern retelling of a Latine Chicano Frankenstein. This follows “The Man” an unnamed paralegal who has been brought back to life through a controversial process. In this world reanimation is both needed but resented. This perfectly depicts the treatment of any person deemed different or other. It’s a social commentary of the bigotry found within our nation. The rhetoric used by the president in this is very reminiscent to a very real president. The laws passed are very reminiscent of laws trying to be passed in our real life. It begs the question of who is considered human and deserving of rights? I found “The Man” to be very endearing in his earnestness to learn more. I felt for him and others like him and found myself relating to their plight. There is also a bit of romance between himself and Faustina. You see him learn or relearn to move through this life. I wish it would have been a little longer but it gave me a lot to think about. I read it in one sitting. I definitely recommend! 4⭐️

After reading the classic tale of Frankenstein, I have been enjoying working through the many retellings of this story. So I was immediately interested in this one. However I found this audio incredibly dry and hard to pay attention too. I kept listening waiting to get hooked but I failed to care about the characters. It's hard to tell if the book or the narrator so I may still try the physical copy if I get the opportunity to read it.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Oh how I loved this book! A beautifully spare, sweetly sexy love story, wrapped up in a chilling allegory for our modern era. Narration was first-rate as well!

Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel A. Olivas and narrated by Thom Rivera is an absolutely glorious retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the audiobook is simply chef's kiss! An elegant crossover between SciFi, Horror, Political Satire and Romance, this is an absolutely fantastic novel

Thom Rivera creates the perfect atmosphere and the characterisation of our male protagonist is absolutely brilliant. Rivera has a fantastic range and really brings out the characters idiosyncracies and personalities, framing Olivas exceptional prose with a stellar performance

As for the storyline itself, dazzling. An author would be hard pressed to match the original in this case, but the beauty of this version, is that it does not compete, but reshapes the novel to be enjoyed by a contemporary and traditional readership alike.

Essentially, we are transported to a time not so far in the future, where people are brought back to life to do the work where there are shortages in the futuristic soceity. However, these people are rarely accepted and often attacked for being different, despite the good they are doing and the extensive profits they are providing for the rich (A direct commentary on contemporary events)

Our protagonist falls in love with a fellow lawyer (Faustina) and as their relationship deepends, he seeks his origins and where he came from tion process erased.

Thank you to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, the fantastic author Daniel A Olivas and the outstanding narrator Thom Rivera for this brilliant ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinins are my own

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio.

The story follows the relationship of an unnamed reanimated man and Faustina.the unnamed man gets a clean slate when he is reanimated and has no memory of his past. He starts to grow a bit and starts to feel more human. There are also interviews and conversations with the president thrown in. It does feel a lot like what is going on in politics right now so not everyone will like this book. Also this book does have an abrupt ending and kept me wanting more. This book was a mix of Frankenstein, politics, latinx culture, and marginalized groups.