Customer Reviews

Still Water Saints: A Novel

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2 star:		(1)
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Gripping. A tantalizing view into a world I knew nothing about. Alex Espinoza made me see the world differently. A welcomed new literal author to a world filled with commercialism. I want to go back to Agua Mansa. I wanted to stay but there was no more. I spoke to the author; he's humble and grateful about filling my world with awe. His answer, "Thank you so much for the kind words regarding my book; it is a big compliment when people react the way you do."

This novel's not for the faint of heart; it is filled with elements that may shock you, but the way Alex raps the characters in a mantra of words you swear they are real folks, everyday people you knew nothing about, peppered with delightful insights into quirky lives not everyone's privileged to see.

The Botánica Oshún's a place I want to visit. Teaming with worldly and unworldly oddities. The connection to the unworldly is always around us but we do not see it. Most of us walk this Earth in a fog, neglecting to fan the watery veil to see beyond. If I was a believer before, this cements my pathetic insight to something beyond biological--we've all experienced the warnings, the déjà vu, the "oh had I done it this way," the thought of someone close and the phone rings and it's them on the other end. Confess, we've all been touched by the supernatural and we were all dismissive, calling it `weird'. I was half way through, went to the market and then bought a candle. I lit it. It stayed lit until I finished the book.

Every chapter took me into a different direction--a different life with a different viewpoint. He (Alex) switches from third person to first with such ease that it threw me the first few chapters. Then I understood why he did it. His motives were to make the reader become the character; to feel, taste, hear, smell the things that character did. I understood for the first time --if only briefly--what it was like to be a woman, a man, a junky, a girl, a transgender, a boy lost in a world desperate to get out of only to find there were more traps ahead. These traps that ensnare without conjecture, that thrive on repeatedly drowning those who are pure of heart and those who are not. I felt like a slave, yet I also felt like an artist, a caregiver, a thief, a prostitute, a mere mortal denied the right to know more about the spiritual: A believer that could see but was blind to his/her surroundings. I dare not say more for fear a curse may fall upon me. I better go buy another candle.

Thanks Alex for the ride. I'm waiting for your next novel. And if you find it in your heart to go back to Agua Mansa, take me with you. Please.

I am lucky enough to attend the university where Alex Espinoza now teaches. I have not been lucky enough to attend one of his classes, yet, but was lucky enough to have him visit my current English class. He is as fascinating in person as his words are on the pages of his novel. Still Water Saints is a moving novel full of characters that readers will find some connection with. This is a must read.

I picked this book up while on a trip to Santa Barbara. When I saw the cover and the title it drew me in. I then read the authors bio and I discovered that he was from La Puente. La Puente is my city a place like Agua Mansa with characters and people from all paths of life that often are missing from literature. I was pleasantly surprise to see these characters brought to life through their everyday mishaps and ritualistic ways by Alex Espinoza. This book is a must read. The author does a great job of taking the reader through a roller coaster of emotions through the spiritual and challenging world of its characters.

I did not enjoy Still Water Saints. I read half of it, slowly, hoping for something special to happen, before I deemed it not worth forcing myself to read anymore. The main character, the 'bruja', was somewhat likeable, but otherwise not engaging on the page. The different stories are clearly intended to have some sentimental impact and to intertwine, but are altogether deflated. The characterization of all the different inhabitants of the title location leaves much to be desired. Whatever the resolution was, I have to admit, I was not even interested enough to try to get to it. I felt bored and depressed throughout most of the story, and somewhat aggravated by how disjointed the flow of events in the stories was. It seems to be little more than a manifesto for poor, ordinary Hispanics in California and various sad circumstances that seem to befall Mexican immigrants. I would have given this book one star were it not for this new author's ability to write just well enough for me to read half of it and to have hope for a good book. But as I my '2' rating indicates, I was highly disappointed.

Alex Espinoza is a true literary genius. Still Water Saints is an inspiring and thought provoking masterpiece. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed and highly recommend this book. It was written very well and kept my interest. Sometimes it was a little hard to follow but in the end it all connected. I thought the characters were very real and very unusual.