Daughters of the Air

A gritty and poignant novel about the ways that past trauma trickles into the present and becomes a reverberating, haunting presence. I really liked Szilágyi’s evocative style and her beautiful way of describing Pluta and Isabel’s moral (as well as mortal) conflicts as they grapple with the loss of their former lives. The surrealist elements of the novel are really well written and add a whimsical, fairytale quality to the narrative. Even more, I liked the way that Daniel was not only a victim of a corrupt government, but also the embodiment of longed-for past, a fragmented memory that is more romantic when looked upon from a turbulent present.

Pluta, the beleaguered main character, is beset by dirt. The Dirty War in Argentina has stolen her father. Her mother's dirty emotions make her impossible to connect with. Her escape from boarding school leaves her covered in dirt. The Gowanus canal is dirty and so are the streets around it, which Pluta inhabits for a few dirty, freedom filled weeks. Plants grow in dirt, and eventually Pluta does too. She rises above through art - opera, museums, and drawing.
Daughters Of The Air is gritty and dreamy and hard to put down. I will be thinking about Pluta and her story for quite some time.

Daughters of the Air presents as a dreamscape or fairy tale, and very hard to put down. There are good dreams but also nightmares that you cannot wake from no matter how hard you try. Anca L. Szilagyi paints in atmosphere and location with a delicate brush and her protagonist Pluta is well defined and sympathetic. Her mother Isabel not so much. I thought this to be a most interesting look at the troubles in Argentina in the 1980's. The cover art, "Bird Moon" by Nichole DeMent, is a perfect cover for this surreal tale.


I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Anca L. Szilagyi, and Lanternfish Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.