5. How do Isla’s visions change her view of her family’s place in their community?

Discussion for The Storyteller's Death by Ann Davila Cardinal - The Big Library Read pick for July 2025. A beautifully written magical realist family saga about Isla Larsen Sanchez, a Puerto Rican teen who inherits a mystical gift.
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smkelly
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2025 7:35 pm

5. How do Isla’s visions change her view of her family’s place in their community?

Post by smkelly »

How do Isla’s visions change her view of her family’s place in their community? What does she learn about their wealth, politics, and personal pride?
Mher1
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 16, 2025 7:52 pm

Re: 5. How do Isla’s visions change her view of her family’s place in their community?

Post by Mher1 »

Isla’s visions help her have a better understanding of how the family views itself, but as a partial outsider herself, she can see how damaging the image they portray can be.

She’d learned the family is more wealthy than she thought, but Marisol ran things differently than her great grandfather did. She also learned more about family members priorities, like who focused more on success and who focused on love.
lanlynk
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 20, 2025 5:12 am

Re: 5. How do Isla’s visions change her view of her family’s place in their community?

Post by lanlynk »

When Isla realizes the position her Puerto Rican family holds in the community and how much more sophisticated they are than she and her mother are in New Jersey, she feels even more disconnected from them. She must have felt very small pitted against such a rich, long-standing heritage.

Then came the visions. They frightened her, and she questioned her ability to handle what was happening. Why was she, of all family members, given this so-called gift? But gradually her confidence grew, even to the point of facing up to the family's power and secrets. She was ready to accept her calling as a worthy cuentista.
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