Latin/Hispanic reading..
This month, the book club is doing Latin American books. The club choose Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges, and House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I tried getting past the third page of Ficciones, and gave up. Some kinds of literature are beyond me.
I managed to read House on Mango Street; and two other "Latin American' books - Drown by Junot Díaz and The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
So here goes
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street is a collection of stories, poems, short pieces told by Esperanza - girl who lives 'temporarily' in Mango Street. She lives in a 'Hispanic' neighbourhood
The stories are told from the eyes of a child growing up. Bits and pieces about family, toys, school, neighbours, relatives, love, loving.
There are short narratives, very pointed, about violence.. with some pieces which even though seemingly told through the eyes of a child are full of the kind of irony that childish points of view sometimes show cynics like me.
This was meant to be a quick read.. but many of the pieces were worth reading over. The book is recommended.
Drown
by Junot Diaz
Oh man, Wow.. 10 short stories with a Dominicano immigrant voice. A lot of us do not know much about the Dominican Republic (it is next to Haiti) - and these stories talk about characters.. immigrants in the USA - and talks about violence, love, family, politics, violence and love and lust.
The language flows.. Spanglish.. and so the stories hook you. Ysrael - two boys try to unmask another boy who is disfigured.. with all of the unapologetic cruelty that characterises some of children's experiences. Fiesta.. about family and complex family relationships. Love them and hate them. Aurora - about a drug dealer's obsessive love for a girl who is a violent drug addict. Aguantado - about waiting to hear from father and husband who has migrated. Drown, about friendship, and the loss of friendship. Edison New Jersey - about working and loving and stealing. How to date a Browngirl, Black girl , whitegirl or Halfie about lusting across race and falling in love. Negocios.. about marriage, and business marriage which ends up being marriage and back to family. Some of these stories sound familiar to what we hear from Caribbean migrants.. the stories of unsuccess . This books is worth the read, and I am reading the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
The Savage Detectives
The Savage Detectives is supposed to be one of the most important books in Latin American literature. It is supposed to be satire of literature and a rejection of 'mystical realism' . We follow Arturo Belano and a host of other characters through their journey in the 70s. The books is not easy to read and I got lost in some of the stories. The author uses first person voices of the different characters to tell of the hope and the hopelessness of poetry and literature. I am glad I read the book, I finished it in the passport office. It is recommended for those who like serious literature and who like Ficciones and some of the others who Arturo Belano satirises.
I managed to read House on Mango Street; and two other "Latin American' books - Drown by Junot Díaz and The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
So here goes
The House on Mango Street
The stories are told from the eyes of a child growing up. Bits and pieces about family, toys, school, neighbours, relatives, love, loving.
There are short narratives, very pointed, about violence.. with some pieces which even though seemingly told through the eyes of a child are full of the kind of irony that childish points of view sometimes show cynics like me.
This was meant to be a quick read.. but many of the pieces were worth reading over. The book is recommended.
Drown
by Junot Diaz
Oh man, Wow.. 10 short stories with a Dominicano immigrant voice. A lot of us do not know much about the Dominican Republic (it is next to Haiti) - and these stories talk about characters.. immigrants in the USA - and talks about violence, love, family, politics, violence and love and lust.
The language flows.. Spanglish.. and so the stories hook you. Ysrael - two boys try to unmask another boy who is disfigured.. with all of the unapologetic cruelty that characterises some of children's experiences. Fiesta.. about family and complex family relationships. Love them and hate them. Aurora - about a drug dealer's obsessive love for a girl who is a violent drug addict. Aguantado - about waiting to hear from father and husband who has migrated. Drown, about friendship, and the loss of friendship. Edison New Jersey - about working and loving and stealing. How to date a Browngirl, Black girl , whitegirl or Halfie about lusting across race and falling in love. Negocios.. about marriage, and business marriage which ends up being marriage and back to family. Some of these stories sound familiar to what we hear from Caribbean migrants.. the stories of unsuccess . This books is worth the read, and I am reading the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
The Savage Detectives is supposed to be one of the most important books in Latin American literature. It is supposed to be satire of literature and a rejection of 'mystical realism' . We follow Arturo Belano and a host of other characters through their journey in the 70s. The books is not easy to read and I got lost in some of the stories. The author uses first person voices of the different characters to tell of the hope and the hopelessness of poetry and literature. I am glad I read the book, I finished it in the passport office. It is recommended for those who like serious literature and who like Ficciones and some of the others who Arturo Belano satirises.
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