“She’d never lived in such a place before; the freedom dizzied her. It was strange, she thought, how you could live all your life in a home defined by people who loved you and took care of you and shared ancestors with you and yet did not entirely see you, people whom you protected by hiding yourself.”

This novel about a queer group of women who establish a home together, literally and figuratively, during the dictatorship in 1970s Uruguay was just beautiful and heartbreaking.
I am really glad that I waited until after our elections here in the US to start reading it, because it is quite terrifying how Uruguay went from a modern democratic society to a fascist rule (and back again). Definitely an eye opening read on that front, but mostly this was an epic character driven story about friendships and how they grow and change. I wanted to reach out and embrace each of these women, they felt so authentic. If a novel that follows beloved characters through decades of heartbreak and triumph appeals, definitely pick up Cantoras.
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