Desert Flowers: what secrets are hidden deep in the middle of nowhere?

Desert Flowers by Paul Pen and translated by Simon Bruni is the story of one family living deep in the Baja California desert with a dark secret. Rose and Elmer have created life for themselves and their five daughters out in the middle of nowhere. They are cut off from all of modern society. They will preserve their way of life and their secret at all costs. It all seems to be working until one day when a young hiker named Rick knocks on their front door. He needs a place to stay, just for the night he says. But it’s long enough for Rose and Elmer to realize they made a horrible mistake. The longer Rick stays, the more intrusive and suspicious he becomes. What they don’t know is that Rick has a secret too. Soon, the family sanctuary won’t be a warm and inviting place anymore. It will become dark and cold as the desert nights. What will happen when their secrets are revealed? 

Paul Pen writes unusual stories which look deeper into the human psyche and behaviors they will do in order to protect themselves and their secrets. After reading Pen’s Light of the Fireflies, I had an idea of the type of story I was getting myself into. Desert Flowers is a very haunting, twisted story which leaves no happy ending. On the surface, the family seems to be happy at their desert hideaway. It is only with the appearance of the handsome stranger does the family start to show their cracks and their unhappiness. There were a few characters I liked but there were many characters that broke my heart especially Melissa, the 13-year-old, middle daughter. It is a book I enjoyed reading as it kept my attention but it is a hard story to recommend. It is not light or easy to read. It is a story where the lines are blurred between heroes and villains. If you enjoy dark, twisted stories, I recommend Desert Flowers. 

Desert Flowers is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

The Light of the Fireflies: a haunting story

The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen (translated by Simon Bruni) is a haunting, yet hopeful, tale of discovering light in the darkest places. The boy, 11,  spent his entire life underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, older sister and older brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire with his sister wearing a mask to cover her burns. He spends hours with his cactus plant, reading a book on insects or touching the one ray of light that filters through a crack in the ceiling. When his sister has a baby, everyone’s behavior becomes very strange. The boy begins to wonder why the baby’s father is never mentioned. What events led to them living in the basement and why do they have to be shut away? When fireflies find their way into the basement, the light makes the boy want to escape, to know the outside world. But the doors are all locked and he doesn’t know how to get out. Can he find a way to escape? 

I started to read this book a couple years ago and had to put it away. The book was strange and hard to follow. Recently, I decided to pick it up again and I’m glad I did. The Light of the Fireflies is a haunting, twisted tale of one family hiding from the world. The reader discovers with the boy why they are hiding. Are they hiding because they fear the world? Or are they hiding from a darker secret? Overall, I enjoyed the story but it is very heavy reading that takes concentration and a certain frame of mind to imagine life in a basement and the secrets behind this family’s motivations. I enjoyed the boy as he is the only one who does not know what the outside world is, the rest of the family manipulates him according to his or her own motivations. He is the one with the drive to discover the truth behind their situation and their stories are starting to contradict each other and lack sense. I recommend The Light of the Fireflies. 

The Light of the Fireflies is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook.