Publisher: Atria Books (Nov 2014). 384 pp.
Translated by Elie Kerrigan
Genre: translation, literature, Spanish
3.5 to 4 stars****
Author: Maria Duena has a Phd in English Philology and is Prof at University of Murcia, Spain. Her debut The Time Between was translated into 25 languages and inspired a television series (it was dubbed Spanish Downton Abbey). This novel was exceptionally well translated by Daniel Hahn. I loved the story and rated it 4.5 stars. It was given to me by new Spanish friends; and increased my interest in this author.
Story Line: Blanca Perea is a Spanish professor of linguistics but after her husband of 20 years has an affair she accepts a position at a university north of San Francisco to escape and distract her. There she will organise the papers of a Spanish writer Andres Fontana. There are two parallel poignant tales of intricate lives in disarray. The alternate stories, with flashbacks can be distracting but I enjoyed the accurate descriptions of academics and university culture. There is also fascinating historical commentary on Spanish culture. Both tales concern betrayal, renewal, loss, grief, healing and the havoc of love. While it is well written, it didn't have the lyrical cadence of her first novel, for me, perhaps the difference in translator. It did, however, have a deeply moving message of recreating your life at any stage. It was a pleasure to read of complicated lives of interesting mature adults and their choices, options and hopes. The resilience of the human spirit is amazing.
Gracias a la vida! Here's to life!
Read On:
Highly recommend her first novel The Time in Between (2011). She deserves wider recognition.
Quotes:
Opening: Sometimes life comes crashing down, heavy and cold as a dead weight.
...she must be one of those indispensable secretaries who, with a third of their superiors' salaries, are usually three times as competent.
...not delve into the reasons why a Spanish professor with a secure professional career, an impressive CV, a good salary, family, and contacts had decided so swiftly to pack a couple of suitcases and move to the other end of the world like someone fleeing the plague.
My job had suddenly become clear to me: to rescue and bring to life the buried legacy of a man who had been long ago forgotten.
...a night of sharp knives. I never thought ghosts could come back with such force.
...reason is sometimes useless.
I've spent my entire life jumping onto moving trains.
Read as an ARC from Netgalley
No comments:
Post a Comment