The Familiar Book Review

[If you would like to watch my summary of this book, you can watch it here]

INTRODUCTION

After reading last month’s book club book, “The City We Became” I was craving something a little more fun, straightforward, and less complicated, and “The Familiar” by Leigh Bardugo was the perfect answer to this! The first book I ever read by Leigh Bardugo was a year ago when she helped break a particularly frustrating reading slump with her Six of Crows duology. Despite the series’ YA rating, I was very impressed with Bardugo's ability to tell a fun heist story with enough care woven into the characters and plot that it actually addresses many real and difficult questions as it pertains to class struggle, prejudice, and the relationship between power and how criminality is addressed. This made me confident that this book would be a good way to transition out of the complex ideas and magic system of “The City We Became” without going too far in the other direction. 

This book tells the story of a young scullery maid of Jewish descent, working in Spain during its Golden Age. 

The book does a good job of addressing the violence and plunder upon which the luster of Spain’s “Golden Age” [early 16th century to the late 17th century] was built upon, and subsequently addressing the role that organized religion in marketing these actions. As is discussed in this book, at this time Spain’s splendor was seen as God’s favor looking down upon its leaders, imbuing them with a sense of divinity. Luzia’s clash with this power structure shows the fallacy of the business of religion as it was conducted, using divinity as an excuse to pillage, and then using that plunder as proof of your godhood. 

 With this backdrop,  Luzia’s individual confrontation with the religious power structure and its restrictions is representative of a larger conflict that led to the circumstance that she finds herself in at the start of the book.  The book also does a great job of interrogating patriarchal norms that have historically and continue to be buried in religious packaging in order to justify their enforcement. 

This is what I wrote when I was halfway through the book:

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AUGUST 23RD, 2024

Luzia is my favorite kind of protagonist! The kind that cannot simply see the red of the stovetop to know it is hot, but needs to go further to touch the stove! Or even knows that the heat is there, but is willing to be seared if it means gaining what they want.  These characters do not merely want to survive or exist but have to run their fingers against the jagged edge of life, even if it costs them everything.

I also love to have a heroine that I’m not sure I can solidly classify as “good” but can absolutely classify as “human” and relatable. She desires to “eat the pomegranate” if you will, and actively chooses to, a symbolic allusion to not only power but also desire. This happens in a scene, and so it is a pretty clear allusion to Eve in the Bible, and probably even Persephone from Greek Mythology considering it in many ways signified her yoking her fate to Santangel’s. 

Placed in the context of this book, it stands parallel to the discussions on religion being had, and the subjectivity and power dynamics that are often involved in the distinction of what is considered “holy” or “unholy”. This is not to say that there isn’t caution to be exercised! There is always a risk when your heart is in play! wink wink

I’ve always been a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers plot, but this is more like reluctant-allies-to-literal-soulmates. All real lovers of reading romance know that the true tension is built through what is shown, and often explicitly not said. In that ache of twin unfulfilled desires that continuously brush against one another in passing, ever closer to meeting with each pass. Leigh Bardugo is a true lover of romance!

There is so much love and desire that she is able to express in the ways that the characters view each other. In the small gestures of care and consideration that they express for each other I was getting K-drama vibes at certain points. Of course, this is all acted atop a backdrop of deception and betrayal, but that only adds to the tension! 

There is also a discussion about words and meaning, which is one of my favorite elements of magical discourse. Luzia wields magic that is imbued in her blood and culture and even shaped through a hodgepodge of different languages as a result of her needing to adopt other languages to navigate her society. 

Some of the magic she does is tied to little phrases and riddles taught to her by her mother and aunt, but as she practices more and explores more on her own, she is forced to reach for magic beyond the bounds of the small chants she was taught as a child. As this happens, the bounds and outcomes of her magic become more unpredictable and wild, showing that the distance from her native tongue and culture has also clouded some of her intrinsic ability to channel her power. By the way, another book that deals with this interaction between words, meaning, and magic, and takes it a bit further is “Babel” by RF Kuang.]

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BOOK REVIEW

This is a feminist text because it focuses on the female experience as it pertains to gender roles and norms, and in the attention that it pays to nearly all the female characters in the book, There are few to no “neglected” women as it pertains to stories. The book starts from the perspective of Valentina, the mistress of the main character, Luzia, showing Bardugo’s efforts to reveal the connectivity of the female experience across different classes and walks of life, as well as the way that patriarchy affects the relationship between women. 

I think this book also hosts a good discussion about the layered realities that the privilege afforded to some aspects of our identities, and withheld from other parts, and how this blend can often result in alliances across social classes like Luzia and Valentina, betrayals from members of the same class, Luzia and Donadei, and everything in between. How characters are not good or bad but fall into a mix of both. 

This isn’t to say that all the women in the book are blameless or benevolent, it just means that there is grace and attention paid to the circumstances that led to their decisions and outcomes. This is particularly notable in the characters of Valentina, Hualit, and Luzia, and the contrast that can be witnessed between them as it pertains to the different realms of privilege and lack thereof. Hualit and Valentina are both ladies of high society, creating a large class divide between them and Luzia, but each is trapped by their paths there in a way that Luzia is not. Both women’s value in society is only granted to them in connection to the men they are connected to, but even this aspect of their relations has layers. 

Hualit is married to Victor de Parades, an extremely wealthy and powerful landowner, in comparison to Valentina who is married to the owner of a failing olive farm and who works hard to disguise their decline.  Due to Hualit’s Jewish ancestry, despite her appearance of being at a higher station than Valentina, she is still a mistress rather than a partner, a barrier that she shares with Luzia, and all three women are bound by their gender. 

These varying intersections and deviations in their status create an interesting examination of the decisions they make with their stations in life, and where that leads them. While Valentina and Hualit give up much of their personhood and autonomy in exchange for a life of greater comfort and protection, characters like Agueda and Luzia are allowed to keep their personhood, and have it ritualistically trampled upon. As there are so many in this book, Luzia has a small quote that encapsulates this conflict:.

“She [Luzia] sometimes played a game with herself when she was tired or her back was aching: Would she prefer to sit on a cushion and embroider all day but only see life bound by a casement? Or would she prefer to take another walk to the well. When the buckets were empty the answer was easy. Not so much when they were full. “ pg. 10

The level of morality and respectability afforded to a person is heavily influenced by their socio-economic stats, an oxymoronic situation when one considers the messages about paucity and humility that are often attached to religion. Luzia’s servile position is treated as a reflection of her personhood, and the reciprocal is true of figures like Victor de Prades and Don Marius. This does not mean that the destitute are exempt from personal and moral responsibility though, and we see this lesson taught through characters like Donadei and Aunt Hualit, whose positions, while understandable, did not make their self-serving behavior any less egregious. 

The interacts with the discussion around sin, because it touches upon the concessions that we all make in life to achieve comforts and better stations in life. While society gazes upon Valentina with benevolence for marrying the correct way, and Hualit negatively for her status as a mistress, both women are miserable with their situations and both made the same concession of themselves in their relationships. 

I think it is gorgeous how in this book that discusses religion and romance, Bardugo takes the time to have a deeper conversation about desire! Historically, pleasure and desire have often been seen as hazards best in Christianity, and straight up sinful in the worst case, and this has always been much more focused on women than men. This pertains to sexual desire, but it also extends towards ambition and drive.

Ambition is often given as a goal to men, and as a cautionary tale to women, and you can see Bardugo actively working to interact and overturn this trope. A beautiful example of this occurs during a scene where Santangel offers Luzia a pomegranate, instructing her to eat it if she wishes to continue down her path of learning magic and attempting to raise her station. This is the speech that Santangel gives to Luzia when he offers it to her:

“I’ve brought you the pomegranate because it means something different to everyone…When Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, they added it to their coat of arms. You can see it in King Phillips heraldry still. But it doesn't belong to them. The Qur’an says it was a gift from Allah. The Bible says the serpent used it to tempt Eve. Two hundred pomegranates were carved into the walls of King Solomon’s temple.  San Juan de Dios made it a symbol of healing. A thousand stories. A thousand meanings. But in the end, it belongs to no one, except the woman who holds it in her hand. Eat it or don’t. Enter the torneo or turn your back on it. It is your choice.” pg. 127

Yessssss! This is how you write and tense and layered romantic conversation! Doesn’t sound romantic? Then you’re not listening, it’s all about the desire you see!

Luzia’s decision to pursue the torneo is also representative of her choosing to pursue her own pleasure, as it pertains to indulging in her inherent magic that she had been forced to hide, but also as it pertains to pursuing Santangel himself. This is reflected in the way that the romance is written, with it showing Luzia as a pursuer rather than a helpless heroine or passive participant like all the worst romance tropes tend to replicate. This makes the dance of romance between Santangel and Luzia charged and alive. The electric romance of brushing skin and witty repartee that gives you all the best historical romance vibes you need, and keeps you anticipating their next scenes together. And for the steamier folks, they also do it. A couple of times. But only after you watch them gaze at each other lovingly!

This book is a lovely blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing and engaging Fall read as we grow closer to the end of Summer! It’s a reluctant-allies-to-lovers to lovers story that goes deeper than romance to examine the heart of desire in beautiful ways, helmed by a character full of spirit and ambition that grabs your attention immediately. 

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NEW WORDS

Alacrán

• Spanish word for Scorpion.

Alguacil

•  is a Spanish law officer who served as a sheriff or chief constable in Spanish municipalities and Latin American countries. The role of an alguacil was similar to a modern bailiff

Alumbrada

•  enlightened person

Auto de fe

• An auto-da-fé, meaning 'act of faith'; was the ritual of public penance, carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries, of condemned heretics and apostates imposed by the Spanish, Portuguese, or Mexican Inquisition as punishment and enforced by civil authorities. Its most extreme form was death by burning.

casa de fieras

• A menagerie

Conversa/o 

The term converso refers to a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, especially during the 14th and 15th centuries. Conversos who continued to practice Judaism in secret were called judaizantes or marranos. To safeguard the Old Christian population and make sure that the converso "New Christians" were true to their new faith, the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in Spain in 1478. The Catholic Monarchs of Spain Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the remaining openly practising Jews by the Alhambra Decree of 1492, following the Christian Reconquista (reconquest) of Spain. However, a significant proportion of these remaining practising Jews chose to join the already large converso community rather than face exile

Cuadrillero

• Gang leader; 

Foxglove

• a tall Eurasian plant with erect spikes of flowers, typically pinkish-purple or white, shaped like the fingers of gloves. It is a source of the drug digitalis.

Frippery

• showy or unnecessary ornament in architecture, dress, or language.

Garrucha

• also known as the strappado, consisted of suspending the victim from the ceiling by the wrists, which are tied behind the back. Sometimes weights were tied to the feet, with a series of lifts and violent drops, during which the arms and legs suffered violent pulls and were sometimes dislocated.

Hidalgo

• A gentleman; A hidalgo was a nobleman by birth who could pass on his noble status to his children. The term originated in the 12th century and comes from the Spanish phrase hijo de algo, which means "son of something". Hidalgos were considered to be of a lower rank than many other noblemen, but they still enjoyed many privileges, such as exemption from taxes, the right to bear arms, and a separate legal system.

Larder

• a room or large cupboard for storing food.

Linajista

• Geneologist

Lomo embuchado 

• is an air dried loin of pork that is considered to be a delicacy. 

melegueta pepper

• Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice (ground or whole); it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is also known as melegueta pepper,

Mentidero

• Gossip shop; An informal term for a place where people gossip

"Menuchah nechonah" 

• is a Hebrew phrase that means "perfect rest" and is used in Jewish prayers and traditions to ask God to grant the souls of the deceased a perfect resting place

Milagritos

• means "miracle" or "surprise". 

Morisca

• A term for a Spanish Moor who converted to Christianity. The term originated in Spanish and was first used around 1550. The Moriscos were a group of people who converted to Christianity but maintained their customs, including language, food, dress, and ceremonies. Many secretly practiced Islam, which led to harsh policies from Catholic rulers. The Moriscos were expelled from Spain in 1609, and many settled in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

Mortaja

• Shroud: A dress for the dead

Nacre

• Nacre is a strong, iridescent, and resilient material that makes up the inner layer of some mollusk shells and is also the main component of pearls. It's also known as mother of pearl.

Plumajero

• Person who makes or sells decorative feathers. 

Portro

• Another name for theRack (torture device).

Sanbenitos

• a sackcloth coat worn by penitents on being reconciled to the church

Shedim

•  are spirits or demons in Jewish mythology and the Tanakh. The word shedim is derived from the Akkadian word šêdu, which means "demon".

Sephardim 

• Sephardim are Jewish people who have their cultural roots in Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East. The word "Sephardic" comes from the Hebrew word sefarad, which means "Spain".

Sefer HaRazim

•  is a Jewish magical text supposedly given to Noah by the angel Raziel, and passed down throughout Biblical history until it ended up in the possession of Solomon, for whom it was a great source of his wisdom and purported magical powers.

Talmud

• The Talmud  is, after the Hebrew Bible, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology. 

Tarasca

• The Tarasca is a mythological creature that appears in the folklore of Spain and other countries, and is associated with the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Tine

• a prong or sharp point, such as that on a fork or antler.

Venal 

• showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery

Verdugado

•  is a Spanish word that refers to a hoop skirt or framework worn under women's skirts in the 16th and 17th centuries. The word comes from the Spanish word verdugo, which means "green wood" or "executioner".

Vihuela

• The vihuela is a stringed instrument that was popular in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Latin America from the 15th to 16th centuries.

villancico

•  genre of Spanish song, most prevalent in the Renaissance but found also in earlier and later periods. It is a poetic and musical form and was sung with or without accompanying instruments.

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QUOTE BIBLE

“I was happier in my mother’s house. The thought came unbidden to Valentina, the grief sudden and overwhelming. But of course, there was no greater shame than an unmarried daughter, nothing more useless than a woman without husband and children. Was this girl happy? Valentina wondered, the question forming on her tongue She clicked her teeth, biting back the words. What did it matter if a servant was happy as long as she did her job?” pg. 8

“Luzia saw her reflection in the goblet, changed but unchanged, made perfect and ruined all the same.” pg. 21

“She was torn between her joy at his praise and a desire to shout that that was not just a thing that had happened. It was not God’s hand moving stars or rain falling over the city. She, Valentina, had trusted her suspicions, trapped the girl into revealing her gift, maybe changed their fortunes. Was it blasphemous to think so? As a sin, pride was as unfamiliar to her as excitement.” pg. 25

“Think for a moment Luzia. Consider what Victor is offering you. How do you think I transformed myself into Catalina de Castro de Oro? Consider the cost of becoming a widow suitable for more than an hour’s rutting from a man like Victor de Parades. You cannot imagine the degradation it required to make a new name and a new history for myself, to prune our family tree. pg. 55

He grasped her hand in his. ‘I was wrong when I told you to fear men and their ambition,” he murmured in her ear. ‘Fear nothing, Luzia Cortado, and you will become greater than them all. Now sing for me.” pg. 112

“Wishes granted were rarely the gifts they seemed” pg. 63

“You were wrong when you said you didn’t need the words. You do need them. Just as God did when He set this whole miserable clockwork running. Language creates possibility. Sometimes by being used. Sometimes by being kept secret. “ pg. 79

“The truth was that she had liked being frightening. She had never contemplated what it might mean to be feared by Victor de Parades, by people like him. What did it mean for her shriveled soul that she had enjoyed it so much? Men weren’t kind to the things they feared.” pg. 127

“I know what it is to lower yourself, to keep your eyes downcast, to seek invisibility. It is a danger to become nothing. You hope no one will look, and so one day when you go to find yourself, only dust remains, ground down to nothing from sheer neglect.” pg. 165

“Her refranes were Spanish and Hebrew and Turkish and Greek. They were none of those things. They changed depending on what part of the world the letter came from. They were words battered and blown to all corners of the map, then returned to her, as the people who spoke them could never return.” pg. 166

“She smiled again and Maarius caught himself preening. It had never occurred to him that his wife could be happy, or that he might be the one to make her happy, or that in doing so he might be made happy in return." pg. 172

He kisses her fingers, and combs her hair, and he treasures her, as only a man who has lost his luck and found it once more ever can.” pg. 379

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SEPHARDIC PROVERBS

Sephardic proverbs reflect the collective wisdom, values, and spirit of a people, conveyed with grace, truth, and often humor. Unlike written literature, they are passed down orally, shared by both the literate and illiterate, and used in everyday situations to express timeless lessons. For Sephardic Jews, scattered across the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and Europe after their expulsion from Spain in 1492, proverbs played a key role in preserving identity, shaping attitudes, and fostering solidarity through the familiar wisdom they carried. These are some if not all of the ones that show up in the book, and I wanted to list them here cause they were so beautiful.

“He who sells the sun must buy candles” pg. 39

“Whoever doesn’t laugh, doesn’t bloom.” pg. 43

In the darkness, all is one. pg. 212

“Fry in oil before you beg.” pg. 246

“Judge me by my flavor, not my color.” - pg. 247

“Trouble comes in gallons, but goes in droplets.” pg. 247

“Where’ever you go, may you find friends.” pg. 283

“God acts slowly, but He doesn’t forget.” pg. 283

“Sweet words open iron gates” pg. 327

“Every rooster sings in his own chicken coop." pg. 328

A change of scene, a change of fortune.” pg. 107