Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez is a novel featuring the story of Olga Isabel Acevedo and her older brother Prieto Acevedo. The siblings grow up in New York but they have Puerto Rican roots. Olga choreographs wedding events for rich people while Prieto represents his neighborhood as a congressman. Since childhood, Olga and Prieto have been battling challenges of every kind. Blanca, their mother, is a radical who abandoned them while they were young to join the Young Lords, a covert group fighting for the liberation of Puerto Ricans. Following the disappearance of their mother, their father became an alcoholic and eventually dies of AIDS.
Olga gets an opportunity to study in one of the Ivy League schools. However, her mother who operates from an unknown location keeps on sending her letters discouraging her from kowtowing to the very persons educating her. Additionally, when Olga becomes a wedding planner, her mother disdains her for serving ultra-rich clients. Prieto is gay and experiences homophobia from real estate developers around Manhattan. Olga and her mother seem to read from different scripts despite serving a perceived common goal of liberating fellow Puerto Ricans.
Blanca nearly succeeds in manipulating her children by instructing them to adhere to Puerto Rican culture. However, her absence induces freedom in them making them behave contrary to their mother’s wish. Olga becomes materialistic and leverages on her clients' wealth to enrich herself. Blanca writes periodic letters trying to wield influence over them but in vain. The nuanced narrative depicts sociopolitical conditions driven by contemporary capitalists.
