Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement

It's been years since I have read anything about Mexico. Even during the time I spent reading about Mexico, it was more about the culture of the ancient Aztecs and Mayans prior to colonization. There was never any mention of the violence which seems to scar the country on a daily basis. I wasn't sure I would like this novel but I decided that beginning to have an understanding regarding this country that has caused so much controversy within the United States, I figured I needed to start somewhere. I thought that this novel was wonderful. I tend to be very critical of books because I read so many of them. I loved how each of the characters seemed to be able to stand alone even though there wasn't too much backstory given to all of them. There were only contextual clues and information that the main character was told or deciphered for herself. I felt that the author did a fantastic job developing them just enough. Usually I feel that when a story is finished and you still have questions that it can be a mark of a bad author, but with Jennifer Clement this was not the case. I wanted the book to continue so I could discover what happened to each of the characters but I knew that if this were the case, the novel would lose much of its appeal. I say this because one of the main premises of the novel is the mystery behind the people who have "disappeared" from their families in Mexico. There is a strong sense of mystery and sadness and by the end of the novel, the reader can feel (albeit not anything near as devastating as what the real families feel) a part of the sadness and wonder to what happened to the characters. What happened to Paula when she and her mother disappeared? What happened to Mike? Was he murdered? Where is Jose? The list of missing characters could go on forever nearly. I also deeply admired Jennifer Clement's ability to show that people who do bad things (such as the women in the prison) are not necessarily bad people. To avoid any spoilers, I will leave out names. But the conclusion I reached was that although the people in the prisons may have murdered someone or who sold drugs, I realized that many of their decisions were based off of the need to survive and desperation. It was very enlightening to read this novel and to see the emotional side of a very controversial issue for the United States. I think that Clement showed the compassion that needs to be seen in Prayers for the Stolen. There are so many issues within this novel that could be dissected such as feminism, slavery and bondage, mother/daughter relationships, patriarchal societies, drugs, immigration, etc. The list is infinite but I would like to keep my post from going on for too long to avoid boredom on the reader's part. A couple of things about the book that I felt could have used a little improvement were the description of time and at times the development of Ladydi's character. With the time aspect, I sometimes felt that it was confusing trying to determine the age of the main character or how much time had gone by in some instances. Perhaps this was intentionally done by the author to convey how life just seems to blend together without room for hope but I wish this concept had been developed a little bit. With Ladydi, she is very obviously ambivalent. Part of this is clearly due to her situation and the need I believe she has to not let herself care too much about a world that has been nothing but thoughtless to her. But at times, I wish that Clement had pushed a little deeper into Ladydi's emotions. We see her passion for Jose but to me, it felt a little underdeveloped. At the end of the novel, her prison roommate declares that Ladydi is crying to which the protagonist denies that she is. This to me was the author conveying that Ladydi was unable to acknowledge her emotions because acknowledging them may lead to even greater heartbreak than her life has already given her. Overall, I would genuinely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the plight of millions of Mexicans affected by the drug cartels, anyone interested in the struggle of a young woman attempting to survive in a misogynistic society or anyone who enjoys a fictional read based on true events. It was well worth the time.