TLC Book Tour – Remedios by Deborah Clearman

It’s only Tuesday, but it feels like it should be later in the week. Well, at least there are some good books to keep me company.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review

REMEDIOS – Deborah Clearman (Released July 13th, 2020)

Book Description:

Fernando Granados is a university professor in financial trouble when a boyhood friend he hasn’t seen in thirty years reenters his life. Memo Galindo, now part of a notorious Mexican cartel, soon persuades Fernando to build a meth lab on his country property, just outside the ancient town of Remedios. Fernando’s strong-willed wife Sandra and their beloved 18-year-old son Félix each fall under Memo’s charismatic spell. The cascading family crisis plays out on a larger stage, from its roots in Guatemala’s civil war in the ’80s to corruption in the Guatemalan army and American DEA, in a country where even the forces of nature wreak vengeance. Clearman, author of Concepción

My Thoughts: 3/5 stars

Going into this I had seen comparisons to Breaking Bad, and of course, that had me intrigued. However, I think that REMEDIOS brings so much more to the table. Yes, we get the drugs and the world of manufacturing and distributing meth, but we also get to dive into the repercussions that one family experiences when they get tangled up in it.

What would you do if your childhood friend came to you asking for a favor? What if that favor involved setting up a meth lab in your backyard and offered the opportunity to become debt free? Fernando is faced with this dilemma when Memo reappears desperate for a place to manufacture and distribute his product from. This book isn’t solely focused on the drug aspect, but more so on the characters.

The way things can spiral out of control after one bad decision is illustrated in this novel. I think the author did a great job creating these characters for us and giving them enough development despite the book only being around the 250ish page mark. The only reason why I took a little off was because I guess I was expecting a little bit more – there just felt like something was missing but I can’t really place what it was. Overall, I did really enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it if the synopsis piques your interest!

About the Author:

Deborah Clearman is the author of Remedios (New Meridian Arts Literary Press, 2020), Concepción and the Baby Brokers and Other Stories Out of Guatemala (Rain Mountain Press, 2017), and Todos Santos (Black Lawrence Press, 2010). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals. She wrote and illustrated The Goose’s Tale for children.

Deborah is the former Program Director of the NY Writers Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to offering creative writing workshops to disenfranchised populations throughout New York City. She has led writing workshops for seniors, the homeless, and adults in public housing, and since 2011 has led an ongoing weekly workshop for women and men in jail on Rikers Island. She lives in Manhattan and Guatemala.

Since her first visit to Guatemala in 1978, Deborah has been back many times, living for a year in the village of Todos Santos in 2001-2002. She continues to maintain a close connection to the country and her Guatemalan friends to this day.

Find out more about Deborah at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.