Gold Diggers

Hmm. This is definitely a book that I've been thinking about since I read it. I have an ongoing struggle with “magical realism” (I'm putting that in quotes because this book's own blurb calls it magical realism but I know that there is a school of thought that says only Latinx writing should be considered magical realism), anyway, like I tend to get a little stuck on what's literally supposed to be happening if the fantasy elements are meant to just be symbolic or whatever. Like I have a degree in English and I'm still just like “yeah but what HAPPENED.”

Like, and I don't think this is a spoiler because it's again the literal main premise of the book, if these characters are stealing gold and using alchemy to then drink the life force of their peers...like I get it as a commentary about competitiveness and ambition but then what does that mean for sort of the central problem of the novel? That is to say, when Shruti kills herself because Neil took too much gold from her, what exactly is this a metaphor for? Is it meant to be rape? Or just too much competition? But Neil wasn't even like really competitive with her, not the way Anita was? Or just...I don't know.

The parts I liked the best were Neil's historical research into the Gold Rush and the hidden history of South Asian immigrants.

The parts I liked the least were Neil's relationship with Anita...like IDK it had real vibes of like “area man earns girl next door's affections (?) by being nice-ish.” ??? I would have been interested to read some parts from Anita's POV.

Anyway...an interesting read that kept me engaged but also ??? And like I wish it had leaned fully into the alchemy aspect. Why can't it just be serious adult fiction that has actual alchemy instead of ~magical realism alchemy flavor~???