Liked it, now what?

I finished it. More lines I liked:

"dicen que se llevarán los restos a la Morgue y allá podremos mirarlos de cerca, ¿y eso cuánto cuesta? No lo sé, algo tendremos que pagar, ¿cobran por reconocer a sus propios muertos? No, hombre eso debe ser gratis..." (p. 223)

"A donde el corazón se inclina, el pie camina." (p. 228)

"ausencias causan olvidos" (p. 229)

"nada agota tanto la fortaleza interior como lo transitorio" (p. 270)

"La de su hermano, en cambio, le pareció solida y decidida, la de un hombre que conoce sus riesgos y asume su destino." (p. 271)

"El pánico es más fuerte que el amor y el odio." (p. 276)

I liked it a lot. I felt the characters' suffering, their pain, their frustration with injustice and the need for freedom. I just hope Venezuela doesn't get to that point again. Two horrible dictatorships for one country should be more than enough, don't you think?

Now the question is, are we going to continue? I know I took for ever, so I just might be banned from the book-blog-club. It's ok if you guys don't want to go on. I have about 5 books on my night stand as it is, so it might be wise for me to step out for a while. Lets hear it, are there more recommendations, or we flying solo?

Almost there

I finally managed to start reading De Amor y de Sombras by Isabel Allende, and I am loving it. I have to confess though I have been having nightmares of being followed, surveillanced, and even taken hostage. I knew this book was set during a dictatorship and I think that was my primary concern about reading it. I seem to be quite impressionable, hence the nightmares, and being from a Latin American country, where dictatorship is part of everyone's heritage, it just seemed too close to home. Anyhow, I apologize for having taken so much time to get to it.

My favorite lines so far (I'm reading it in Spanish):

"Tenía un pie en la ilusión obligada y otro en la realidad secreta" (p. 85)

"la margaritas son señal de buena suerte" (p. 85)

"el tamaño de un hombre depende de su actitud" (p. 128)

"la ausencia es tan adversa como el paso del tiempo" (p. 137)

I still haven't finished it, but every night I go to it thinking "ok, this is it, now Irene and Francisco are going to die". I'm telling you, sometimes this feels more like torture than pleasure, but I can't put it down.

Of love, shadows and why I still love the book so much

Sorry this has taken a while. Truth be told, I cheated on Love and Shadows and was reading Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book, which I now think everyone should read - but that's another story.

So, after about 8 years of not reading Of Love and Shadows, I have to say I was initially bored. I thought.. Hmmm... Maybe it's not as good as I remembered it, maybe I read it at a time when my literary tastes were different and now it doesn't do it. However, in the end, I was mesmerized by Allende's writing.

But to start, let's go to the beginning. I'm not going to recap Chilean history for you guys here, as it would take too much space and assume everyone is interested. As much as I squirm about its scholarly lacking, if you guys want more info, go to Wikipedia to see "Salvador Allende" and "Augusto Pinochet" for info on the period that Isabel Allende covers. Important things to know about her and the book is that she is the niece of the murdered Chilean ex-president, and that she worked as a journalist before she went into exile to Venezuela.

Perhaps that's one of the things that makes me love the novel so much. The knowledge that Isabel Allende is using her first-hand knowledge to give life to the story. She says in a short foreword that this is a story that she has kept in her memory, and that she now tells so that "the wind may not erase it". Say what you will about the economic progress Chile made during Pinochet's dictatorship, nothing excuses the human loss through which it was achieved.

The other thing that makes me love the story so much is her narrative voice. I hope the translation does her justice, because truly, the way she weaves the story and her words give life to the characters and their feelings is what I love most about the book.

I could give you guys 20 examples of where I love her words. But I will stay at two. The first, I have to admit, moves me because of the emotion she conveys. I think that Jarod -if his blogging break has not taken him away from reading- will probably roll his eyes at my first choice of quote from the book, as it happens to be from a love scene, but what can I do, I love it. Reading it, my breath always leaves me and I think how beautiful to feel like that.

1. From when Irene and Francisco are alone after discovering the bodies in the cave, pg. 211 in my book:

"Irene miel y sombra, Irene papel de arroz, durazno, espuma, ay Irene la espiral de tus orejas, el olor de tu cuello ... vida mía, mujer mía, Irene mía. No supo cuánto más le dijo ni qué susurró ella en ese murmulo sin pausa, ese manantial de palabras al oído, ese río de gemidos y sofocos de quienes hacen el amor amando"

Irene honey and shadow, Irene rice paper, peach, foam, oh Irene, the curve of your ears, the smell in your neck ... my life, my woman, my Irene. He didn't know how much more he said and what she whispered in that endless murmur, that torrent of words whispered in their ears, that river of moans and breaths of those who make love loving.

2. From pgs. 136-137 in my book, when we find out that Francisco's brother has killed himself:

"Javier Leal se ahorcó el hueves ... Temprano, su mujer tuvo el presentimiento de la desgracia, mucho antes de que fuera la hora de empezar a preocuparse. Cuando cayó la noche se instaló a esperarlo a esperarlo en el umbral de la puerta con los ojos fijos en la calle. ... Aún no despertaban los niños cuando la patrulla policial frenó ante la puerta de la casa. Habían encontrado a Javier Leal colgando de un árbol en el parque infantil. ... ella supo sin duda alguna que se había matado y comprendió por fin los nudos de la cuerda que manipulaba sin cesar."

Javier Leal killed himself on thursday ... Earlier, his wife sensed the foreboding of disaster, way too early, before it was time to start worrying. When night fell, she sat down to wait for him at the doorway, her eyes fixed on the street ahead. ... The children hadn't woken up when the police cruiser stopped in front of the house. They had found Javier Leal hanging from a tree in the children's park ... she knew, whithout a doubt, that he had killed himself and finally understood the knots he was always tying.

By delivering the news like this, both the reader and the wife realize what should've been obvious from the beginning. But that is not all, it's the way she describes the event: The early foreboding and the pain of the wife when she sits on the doorway, staring out as if trying to make him appear by staring into the night strongly enough. It's also a subtle note on the risk she herself was taking by waiting for him out in the street: She was violating curfew and could've been arrested if seen with her door open, sitting outside after hours.

I know that my analysis is probably not the most professional and maybe it's even superficial. But then again that's why I'm happy I'm not in the PhD anymore, because I just want to love books, even if it is because of small moments when the writer really is able to make you feel the pain -or the joy- of the characters.

What about you guys? Do you agree with this super-biased analysis? Disagree? Are there any parts you guys absolutely loved? Hated?

* NOTE: The translation of the quotes above is mine, so if it doesn't match or -horror!- do justice in English, it's my fault.

THE END

I just finished "Of love and Shadows" on the car ride back from South Carolina.

Any others done?

It was pretty good- but I didn't LOVE it.

Merry Christmas

Hey fellow readers, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and peace and love for the new year!! San

Are we reading yet?

Just touching base... to see if we all are reading.

Of Love and Shadows

Gewels! You beat me to announcing that our chosen book is Of Love and Shadows. Not to worry, you don't have to read anything with raunchy romance and lots of bare-chested men.

In terms of the book itself, my personal suggestion is that, if possible, you guys buy the regular size-version, as opposed to this one (mass market print), which is the paper back version. I have seen the bigger one at Barnes & Noble stores, but Amazon and the B&N online stores only sell the mass market one. I don't like such small print books, but if nothing else is available, that may have to do. Jen, here's the link of the Spanish version, if you want to read it in the original.

I'm guessing that between ordering it online and/or getting it in the store it could take at least a week. Let's give ourselves about 3 weeks to do this. It should be fun, so if we finish earlier, or later (with the Holidays and all), it's fine. Just let's talk about whether we've got the book and have been able to start reading.

I will dust off my 1990s copy, that I so love, and start reading again. :)