We Need No Wings was a beautiful story, artistically narrated and sensitively told, it was a pleasure to read on my holidays this year. Find my full review below!
Summary
To be free, we must learn to fly.
Teresa Sánchez has always known who she a professor, a wife, a mother, and a friend. But when her husband dies unexpectedly, she finds herself completely broken. Taking a leave from the university, Teresa hopes that she can mourn her husband and get back on her feet, but instead, she spends a year consumed by grief.
Until the day she levitates.
Suddenly, Teresa’s life is thrown into disarray, and the repeated incidents of levitation not only make her question her sanity, but also put her in danger. She decides she will do anything to stop them. So when she’s reminded that her family is related to the renowned levitating mystic, Saint Teresa of Ávila, she leaves the refuge of her home and travels to Spain, hoping to find answers. But Saints can be elusive, and not all answers are easily found. Teresa will soon have to decide whether to remain shrouded in her grief, or open her heart to a world where we need no wings to fly…
My Review
In We Need No Wings, the story follows Teresa Sánchez, Tere, as she tries to figure out why she keeps levitating following the death of her husband, Carl. Tere’s links to Saint Teresa of Ávila, who was also known to levitate, take her to her ancestral home in Spain where she starts to discover who she is now and put a stop to randomly levitating.
I enjoyed reading We Need No Wings, I think the author, Ann Dávila Cardinal, has a wonderful style of writing. It’s intricate, joyous, and calming all at the same time. The book deals with some pretty heavy themes, including death, grief, and identity, but Ann Dávila Cardinal’s approach is gentle and kind. We Need No Wings is definitely a slow summer read, I think I really enjoyed it because I gave myself time to read and absorb the story, the themes, and the characters. So if you’re looking for an inspiring and empowering book for the autumn, I’d really recommend this one!
Tere is a sympathetic character, she’s grieving but resilient. I felt empathy for her with everything she’s having to deal with on top of losing her husband. Her decision to go to Ávila to find answers feels bold and daring, and I was cheering her on the whole time.
I found it interesting that the idea of levitating is associated with grief and sadness for most of the story as I always associate levitating with happiness and laughter (I’m thinking of the levitating in Mary Poppins that’s caused by raucous, tear-inducing laughter). So Dávila Cardinal’s choice to have it be associated with the opposite of this aspect of the story intrigued me – how is levitating (which I’d generally associate with weightlessness and freedom) linked to the heavy weight that Tere clearly feels following Carl’s death? As it turns out, levitation isn’t only associated with unhappiness (I won’t say anymore to avoid spoilers), it has some other interpretations too.
I like that Tere was brave enough to travel to Spain by herself to seek answers. I’m glad that she doesn’t let the people in her life at home dictate what she does based on their ideas of what she should be doing. She’s a strong woman who has been through a lot and is coming out the other side, people need to give her credit for this. I also like Tere’s evolution, how she changes as she better understands herself. I’m proud of her that she did what she needed to do, found the answers she needed for herself, and didn’t let others’ opinions deter her from her plans.
Rodrigo had asked what was next for Tere Sánchez. Well, clearly her answer was trespassing, theft, and sacrilege.
There is a subtle humour throughout the story which I appreciated. Tere has a rather dry sense of humour but we don’t get to see much of it before she arrives in Spain. It feels as though Spain allows her to open up and embrace who she is in a way that she was unable to in Vermont. I like that the author did add a touch of humour to the story, it shows the duality of life and the things that happen; sad things happen but it doesn’t mean that you have to be sad all the time.
The quote above refers to something that Tere does (with the help of a new friend in Ávila) in response to an intense emotional reaction she has to seeing Saint Teresa’s finger in a reliquary case in a museum. I found it fascinating (and slightly absurd) that this reliquary case had such an impact on Tere. It seems to give her a new lease of life, it stokes the embers inside her and brings back her fire. The emotion this seemingly insignificant reliquary case (insignificant to everyone else who has probably looked into it) elicits from her is more and a wider range of emotion than we get from her from the first half of the book. I’ll not spoil the story by telling you what Tere does with the reliquary case and its contents but I honestly think it’s the best thing to happen to Tere in a very long time. It sets her free, it gives her the permission to fully embrace who she is.
Isabella just cackled. “Life’s a bitch, ain’t it?” she asked in English, then put her hands on her knees and started to stand. “Well, I best go supervise in the kitchen. Sister Catalina is cooking, and she could burn an ice cube in Alaska.”
Of all the characters in the book, Tere’s cousin Isabella is by far my favourite. Isabella is a blast of cool air, fresh water thrown on you on a hot day. She’s the relief that Tere needed when she first meets her. She’s no nonsense and no bullshit, and I feel that’s what Tere needs in her life as she’s constantly bombarded by people (mainly men) in her life treating her like she’s super fragile and will break at any moment. Isabella’s sassy comments and witty throwaway remarks were the perfect remedy for the heavier topics that are dealt with in the story. She was fantastic and I think most of my highlights on my Kindle were her comments.
Finally, I wanted to touch on the author’s marvellous descriptions of Spain. The author has captured this part of Spain perfectly. I spent six months living in Granada in the south and visiting cities across Andalusia including older cities, like Seville and Cordoba, which have the same intricate web of streets and side streets that bring you to different plazas and squares. The writer’s style conjures up images from my own life vividly. She also managed to get the excitement that you feel as you walk through the city as an outsider – you don’t know where the path you’re on is leading but you know there will be something exciting when you get there. Infusing this emotion and feeling into her words really impressed me, the descriptions of the city were perfectly written.
After reading the short Q&A with the author at the end of my copy, I know that she spent considerable time in Ávila, which must be why her descriptions are so vivid. She’s able to truly capture the feeling and vibe of Spain because she was there. I’m not saying all authors have to go and live in the city they’re writing about but in this instance, it was really worth it because I think Spain’s essence has been captured fantastically.
We Need No Wings deals with tough themes, like death, grief, identity, and religion. I felt that each theme was dealt with sensitively and constructively. The author’s style of writing brings the characters’ emotions and feelings off the page, so much so that I had a tear in my eye when Tere finally found her answers. This is a story about grief, death, religion, yes, but it’s also a story of bravery, resilience and finding out who you are. I cheered for Tere throughout the story and I’m still cheering for her now and I hope she continues to embrace who she is.
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I’d like to thank the author, Ann Dávila Cardinal, and Anna Venckus at Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advanced copy of the book.
2 comments
That is an interesting take on levitating. Like you, I’d always thought of it as happiness. I think of sadness more as a heavy p, sinking feeling. I like that the author was able to describe scenes because she’d been to the location. That’s a nice touch.
Yeah, I have exactly the same association with sadness as more of sinking, heavy feelings, Carla. I suppose for Tere the sadness and stress she feels are like the balloons pulling her up and the earth grounds her and makes her feel stable?
Agreed – the descriptions of the city were lovely and definitely showed that the author had been there.
Did you enjoy the story?