FORCES OF NATURE: HOUSE OF RAIN AND BONE by Gabino Iglesias

It's no surprise Gabino Iglesias works both in horror and crime fiction, often blending the two. Both give opportunity to examine the soul, something the author finds as important to his characters as their lives. He takes a look at the soul in a collective sense with House Of Bone And Rain.

The book starts out as a coming of age story crossed with a gritty revenge tale. Gabe, Bimbo, Tavo, Xavier, and Paul, friends who grew up together in a Puerto Rican town in the grips of the drug trade, are about to graduate from high school. The reality of their worlds slaps them when Bimbo's mother is shot dead in the streets. In grief fueled vengeance, Bimbo swears to get even and his friends back him up. When they discover one of the biggest crime lords on the island gave the order, they go down down the darkest path they could travel with the death and horror increasing when Hurricane Maria hits.

Iglesias uses Maria as another character, possibly something bigger. The boys joke about how she even has a typical Puerto Rican name. The force of destructive wind and water seems to partly come from the collective rage of the boys or a part of the violence that escalates with them. This act of god connects the natural to the supernatural, revealing those who are monsters on the island and bringing others to it. It serves as both antagonist and expression for the life and death in Puerto Rico.

Gabino captures the emotions of group friendship between young men at a certain time when it is simpler and more intense. He examines the double edge of that bond where your sworn to have the others back no matter what. Their loyalty is also a part of survival with the violence and poverty they grew up around. We see the strains of this bond as adulthood gives the different roads to travel. Iglesias also shows how the strain of the friendship is put on the boys personal well being. This mainly portrayed through Gabe, who narrates most of the story. His friendship to Bimbo pulls him away from his girlfriend, family, and future toward something that will taint his heart forever.

Gabino Iglesias has told an intimate story of friends and while weaving in an epic one of his country of origin. He slows the struggles of both to provide strength, yet cuts to that soul. He tells it all with the force and impact that makes Maria seem like an ocean breeze.