Loteria

A Novel

By: Mario Alberto Zambrano

Narrated by: Maria Cabezas

Length: 3 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Prepare to be enthralled by this lyrical, achingly human debut novel about a young girl's remarkable resilience in the face of loss. Struggling to cope as her family falls apart, 11-year-old Luz María Castillo retreats into her beloved set of Lotería cards - a Mexican game featuring riddles and vibrant images. Each card represents a different memory, and as Luz shuffles through the deck, she weaves her recollections into a compelling story of love, loyalty, tragedy, and hope.

By turns affecting and inspiring, Lotería is a powerful novel that heralds the arrival of an outstanding new writer, one who reminds us of the importance of remembering, even when we are trying to forget.

©2013 Maria Alberto Zambrano (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

This probably works much better as a physical book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It would be great with a PDF of the loteria pictures, that apparently begins each chapter of this book, and sets its theme - as it is, the name of the picture in Spanish is read - and not translated, so if like me you speak NO Spanish, it's even hard to guess how it's spelled and google it. There are also plenty of sentences spoken in Spanish, that are not translated, which makes you feel like you're missing out on a lot of character interaction, again in a physical book it would be easier to translate words you don't know. So, the enjoyment of the story is flawed a lot by it's unsuitability to the audio media - unless you speak Spanish,

I loved this book

Where does Loteria rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I don't usually listen to fiction but I had read the book and wanted to check out the audiobook. The choice for the narrator was perfect. She really captured the character of Luz and pronounced the Spanish words perfectly. (I hate it when narrators pronounce words wrong...) What's missing on the audio version that I loved in the printed version of the book is the beautiful artwork. The book is a visual treat. The author's writing style is also a treat. His sentences are graceful, concise and elegant. There are parts of this book I would like to frame and hang on my wall. While the audiobook is nice, the printed version is a work of art.

What other book might you compare Loteria to and why?

The House on Mango Street, El Arroyo de la Llorona, The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

One of the passages struck a nerve. This is from when Luz's parents were fighting, "That time I saw them over the table, I crawled out the window and ran down the street to the corner store and stole pieces of chewing gum and put them all in my mouth at one time. I chewed so fast my cheeks burned, and they burned so much that I told myself I was crying because of the sting, not because they were fighting."

Any additional comments?

I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

loteria very good! I

everything about this was good. . I really enjoyed it. as if it was me living it..

So simple yet, very complex

Having basic knowledge of Loteria really helped me to understand referrances to verses. Thank God otherwise I believe I would have been more lost. This whole story I found intriguing and interesting. Violence though not described, almost to the point of acceptance on the part of this family, was disturbing. Do not have a category to put it into. Believe that this is totally possible and was confused by it’s way of connecting-Loteria-of course.