LIBERTY FARM by Izai Amorim

I have requested an ARC from NetGalley and was so pleased to be approved. The book description convinced me that it’s a good read. The book can easily be split in two separate books, both of considerable length.

First thought? So many descriptions. Pages filled with dates and historical events and oh, so many character names that I struggled to remember and connect. To be honest, I was afraid I will be completely put off so I skipped all these and went straight into the story. Boy, was I happy to do it. As soon as I dived in I familiarized myself with both main families and relationships between them. It felt like I have new acquaintances and am part of it all.

The further I went the more frustrated I got. I was annoyed with the patriarchy and misogyny, I was frustrated to read that giving birth to a girl meant nothing else but a wasted belly and because of it I was tempted to just switch off and move on to another book. Only, I couldn’t. This is a family saga that goes beyond all those times ideologies and mentalities. It spreads from 1980s to 1990 showing developments of politics and dramas carried on by three family generations.

I have to say that I did get a bit emotional as this book is a trigger when it comes to miscarriages and childhood death and the subjects are treated as often as possible throughout the entire novel, men being obsessed with having more and more sons and impregnating their wives as many times as possible not once thinking of the trauma it brings upon women.

Also, the struggles over land and inheritance, the rivalries among siblings and the fight for a father’s love are so well described that at times I was reminded somehow of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.

Overall, it is a very good read for those who love a psychological family saga mixed with political and historical events.

LIBERTY FARM by Izai Amorim is coming out 20th of May 2021 ans is a major literary fiction work that demands attention and patience.