Arráncame la vida
or "Tear This Heart Out" (official title, not my translation)
Author: Ángeles Mastretta
Year of publication: 1990
Plot summary: 15-year-old Catalina falls in love with the twice-as-old general Ascencio. He decides to marry her (she didn't have much of a say about it) and at first she is content, if not happy. The general does what his name implies and ascends in his political career, gaining more power, more brutal methods and more mistresses as he goes along.
The story is written from Catalina´s perspective, which is to expect of a writer known for her feminism. Although Catalina is certainly suppressed and under the control of the general, the plot didn't take the turn I expected it to, with abuse and disrespect. The general seems to genuinely love her, and far from demanding she stays at home cooking and cleaning, he appoints her to a political position with the claim that that is what wives are for: "Don't think that everyting is just about fucking and having fun."
I was relieved that the plot turned out that way. That it was just not about the big bad husband and the poor defenseless wife. This way, the characters are all gray instead of black and white. The general, who on the one hand controls Catalina's life and career and guards her jealously, while keeping several mistresses himself, seems to do it out of genuine concern and love for her. And Catalina, who is supposedly the victim of this novel, also involves herself in several affairs, although she keeps them more secret than her husband does. All in all, that makes for a very nuanced view of the incidents in the story, which forces the reader to reflect rather than accept.
Besides all of this, the novel is also a document describing the mexican aristocracy in the time of revolution, which makes for a very interesting background for the plot.
In conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this novel that I expected to be a shallow feel-bad story about an abusive relationship. I would even go so far as to say I could recommend it to others.
Author: Ángeles Mastretta
Year of publication: 1990
Plot summary: 15-year-old Catalina falls in love with the twice-as-old general Ascencio. He decides to marry her (she didn't have much of a say about it) and at first she is content, if not happy. The general does what his name implies and ascends in his political career, gaining more power, more brutal methods and more mistresses as he goes along.
The story is written from Catalina´s perspective, which is to expect of a writer known for her feminism. Although Catalina is certainly suppressed and under the control of the general, the plot didn't take the turn I expected it to, with abuse and disrespect. The general seems to genuinely love her, and far from demanding she stays at home cooking and cleaning, he appoints her to a political position with the claim that that is what wives are for: "Don't think that everyting is just about fucking and having fun."
I was relieved that the plot turned out that way. That it was just not about the big bad husband and the poor defenseless wife. This way, the characters are all gray instead of black and white. The general, who on the one hand controls Catalina's life and career and guards her jealously, while keeping several mistresses himself, seems to do it out of genuine concern and love for her. And Catalina, who is supposedly the victim of this novel, also involves herself in several affairs, although she keeps them more secret than her husband does. All in all, that makes for a very nuanced view of the incidents in the story, which forces the reader to reflect rather than accept.
Besides all of this, the novel is also a document describing the mexican aristocracy in the time of revolution, which makes for a very interesting background for the plot.
In conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this novel that I expected to be a shallow feel-bad story about an abusive relationship. I would even go so far as to say I could recommend it to others.
Soldados de Salamina
or "Soldiers of Salamine"
Author: Javier Cercas
Year of publication: 2001
Plot summary: The author/reporter Cercas stumbles across the story about Rafael Sanchez Mazas, one of the founders of the Falange, and how he escapes his execution and is then saved by an anonymous republican soldier. Cercas is then determined to find out all he can about this incident, about the life of Sanchez Mazas and, above all, about the identity of the republican soldier.
The novel is divided into three parts, the first being mainly concerned with the research Cercas made before writing the novel. The second part is structured similarly to a very detailed biography about Mazas. In the third part, we return to the first person perspective of Cercas, where he declares that he was at ths point finished with the novel, but that he felt it was lacking something. This is when he decides to try and locate the anonymous soldier. In my opinion, the novel only really intrigues me the last twenty pages or so. On the other hand, if I didn't have all the background information given in parts one and two it wouldn't have intrigued me. And I do find the different testimonies from the civil war fascinating, but I don't feel they are given the right attention in this format. I don't regret reading this, however: it was very insightful and sometimes humorously written, with a good portion of self-irony and historical facts. Just hold on through the first chapter; it's worth it.
Author: Javier Cercas
Year of publication: 2001
Plot summary: The author/reporter Cercas stumbles across the story about Rafael Sanchez Mazas, one of the founders of the Falange, and how he escapes his execution and is then saved by an anonymous republican soldier. Cercas is then determined to find out all he can about this incident, about the life of Sanchez Mazas and, above all, about the identity of the republican soldier.
The novel is divided into three parts, the first being mainly concerned with the research Cercas made before writing the novel. The second part is structured similarly to a very detailed biography about Mazas. In the third part, we return to the first person perspective of Cercas, where he declares that he was at ths point finished with the novel, but that he felt it was lacking something. This is when he decides to try and locate the anonymous soldier. In my opinion, the novel only really intrigues me the last twenty pages or so. On the other hand, if I didn't have all the background information given in parts one and two it wouldn't have intrigued me. And I do find the different testimonies from the civil war fascinating, but I don't feel they are given the right attention in this format. I don't regret reading this, however: it was very insightful and sometimes humorously written, with a good portion of self-irony and historical facts. Just hold on through the first chapter; it's worth it.
It lives!
Efter ett nyligen avslutat besök i Mjölby hos min astuffa lokförare-in-training-kompis E kom det till min kännedom att denna blogg faktiskt fortfarande har läsare, vilket jag aldrig trodde. Jag har därför beslutat att ge det ett försök till (vad är det, tredje gången nu?) och fortsätta min numera enbart litterära kritik. Dessutom kan ju inte pojkvännen vara den enda i förhållandet som bloggar :)
Kram på alla som fortfarande hänger här!
Kram på alla som fortfarande hänger här!