| Title | : | Perla |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0307599590 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780307599599 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 236 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2012 |
Perla Correa grew up a privileged only child in Buenos Aires with a polished, aloof mother and a straitlaced naval officer father, whose profession she learned early on not to disclose in a country still reeling from the abuses perpetrated by the deposed military dictatorship. Although Perla understands that her parents were on the wrong side of the conflict, her love for her papa is unconditional. But when she is startled by an uninvited visitor, she begins a journey that will force her to confront the unease she has long suppressed and make a wrenching decision about who she is and who she will become.
This rich human drama is based on the truth of thirty thousand disappeared Argentinian citizens and five hundred babies who were born in clandestine detention centers, torn from their mothers, and secretly given up for adoption. In the years that followed this dark time, some of these children have discovered the identities of their true families, and they continue to do so today. Perla brings history to life as only fiction can, in an intimate, unforgettable portrait of one young woman's explosive search for truth. De Robertis unfolds a gripping and historically resonant tale with keen-eyed compassion, luminous prose, and a startling vision of the incomparable power of love.
Perla Reviews
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My love for Latin America continues to be fed by some amazing authors who have some fascinating & horrifying stories to tell.
This one gutted me. Wide open.
It takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The history here is a conflicted one. The military dictatorship did some horrible abusive crimes to Argentinians who were known as ‘subversives’ and became the desparecidos aka the disappeared. Children taken and folded into new families; previous ones erased.
Perla, who was born into privilege, has her own demons to face. The false narrative she has of her own father and his career; And the reality of what he did and his own role in her life that was created. The truth is unveiled when a “stranger”appears. The identity she has been seeking, longing for, has now come to fruition with all of its shocking and painful pieces.
The writing- exquisitely descriptive. There is some magical realism here and as much as I am not a fan, this worked magnificently.
5⭐️
I adored Cantoras which is a later one and I strongly recommend too.
Thanks Ann for the reco!! -
If Perla was a theatrical production, I’d jump to my feet, applaud and shout “brava!” This visceral reaction – that something very special has just been experienced – is precisely how I felt upon closing the last page of this spellbinding book.
Where do I even begin? Perhaps with the title: Perla is a college-aged young woman whose father, a Navy Officer, was on the wrong side of the heinous Argentina Dirty Wars. During those wars, many innocent people simply disappeared; they were drugged and thrown out of airplanes, never to be seen again. At the book’s beginning, Perla discovers that one of those disp – a ghost, quite literally – has somehow found his way into her home.
There are plot twists to this coupling, surely, but it is not those twists that make this novel stand out. Ms. De Robertis explores something far more vital: what happens when a person we love has been the instrument of pain and suffering? How do we reconcile his heinous acts with the person who loves and nurtures us? What responsibilities do we have to him, to society in general, and most of all, to ourselves? Or, in Perla’s own words, how can one move forward when “the crimes of my father-the crimes of the nation, also, crimes to which I had not given words –settled on me, rode my back drooped my shoulders, stuck to me and refused to wipe away.”
Perla is forced into a delicate dance of trying to understand her father, extricate herself, potentially be his salvation as her father demands “absolution or amnesia or, at the very least, for continued love.” Her inner journey to claim her place in the world – her very identity – leads to birth and a rebirth and connects her with who she is meant to be and who she will become.
In confident prose that reads like elegiac poetry, Ms. De Robertis creates word images that are downright exquisite. I often went back and read lines twice or three times, marveling at their beauty. And when I reached the end, I broke down in sobs, not because of a manufactured sad ending but because the story was so very powerful. I haven’t had that reaction since reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved. This masterpiece tackles all the big parts of life: love, suffering, redemption, identity, the need of belonging, and how we connect to each other. If I could give it 10 stars, I gladly would. -
Perla by Carolina De Robertis is an ambitious and emotional novel.
The protagonist Perla grew in in Argentina in a privileged family and she has to come to terms with her father’s ugly past as she learns about his part in war crimes that have terrorised the country. Perla understands that her parents were on the wrong side of the conflict but her love for her father is unconditional.
No doubt the concept for this book is excellent and Carolina De Robertis has a unique way of telling a story that many will love but for me just did not draw me in.
The writing is beautiful but a little too flowery at times and I felt overwhelmed with adjectives when all I wanted was historical facts and more information about this period of history. I wanted the backround story to develop and was disappointed when it didn’t.
I also had a hard time accepting the guest’s part in story and just felt this took away from the reality of what was an excellent plot.
Overall I think this is very emotional and well written book and I would rate it 3.5. I think this book would make an excellent group discussion book. -
Good story about a dark and tragic time in Argentinian history. The government killed or "disappeared" about 30,000 in the 70’s and 80’s. Didn't care too much for the magical realism parts of the book. It was very abstract and overly descriptive for my taste. De Robertis narration did hold my attention with her soothing rhythmic voice, though. 3.5★s
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In years 1974-1983 in Argentina, around 30,000 people disappeared. These people were those sided with left wings or had socialism activities. Military and right wing forces were responsible for those disappearances.
After democratic government held the power again, the next kin of victims received some compensation for what happened during those terror years.
It’s believed lots of children of those who’s been killed were raised by the families of military officers. Some of those children later found out about the heartbreaking truth through DNA matches, the bitter fact they were raised by the exact people responsible for death of their real parent.
Perla is the story of such a girl. The daughter of a navy officer who come to realize maybe her parents are not her real parents, through years of denial and self-struggle with identity she walks the steps to know herself and accept the past and present.
The book is written is a beautiful poetic narrative from Perla’s point of view. -
"Perla" has unnerved me. I find myself at a bit of a loss in trying to begin to tell, share, explain this novel. Without a doubt, this book is an exquisite piece of writing which pulls you, the reader, inside Perla's mind and heart where you begin to float on tangled gossamer, caught by a nebulous visitor dripping water and words on her floor. You will feel dazed for a while, as the sentences hold time still, word after word, a stream of consciousness filling half a page here, and there, and there... And then - brutally, brought to truth.
During a period of one of Argentina's political upheavals, in the 1970s, a far right military junta killed the first democratic president and installed a dictatorship. To maintain control, they eliminated the leftist guerrillas, and to keep it they continued what they later described as acts of war by rounding up thousands of intellectuals, priests, liberal thinkers and their families to jail, torture and kill. These people came to be known as "The Disappeared".
For the first time Perla meets the past of her country, which her parents keep from her like a dirty secret. Guided by the mysterious apparition Perla learns of his life, his death, of those who suffered with him, their fate whispery and deeply troubling. Perla questions everything she has ever known, the father in the military, her cold mother, the illusion of personal freedom, the concept of love and family.
The history is harsh. The hope, however, is quite magnificent. The magical presence of one disappeared is redeemed in one found. Perla, the young woman and character and the book are quite incredible. -
This is a novel about Argentina, about the men and women who "disappeared"under their dictatorship and about the mothers and grandmothers who protested in the square demanding the return of their son, daughters and grandchildren. It is a novel about a young woman named Perla, the secrets in her house and the truths she does not want to face. I was first drawn to this novel by the cover and the title, before I even knew what this book was about. The prose is elegant and beautiful, even when at times the subject matter is horrific. The use of magic realism is seamless and blended into the novel in such a cohesive way I can't imagine the story without it. It is a novel where one savors the words, rereads and envies the writer's abilities. By the time I came to the story's end I found i was shivering. Absolutely astounding telling of a country's history and a young woman's search for herself.
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It was amazing, beautiful, strange, shocking, sad, traumatic and unforgettable. I was pulled into the beautiful and ethereal text, into a young woman's living room as a strange visitor appeared on a rug on the floor, completely naked and shedding smelly sea water.
This is a story of discovery. It is a story about terrible things that happened to people. It is a story of a young woman searching for herself and her identity. It is a story about a beautiful future and hope too. It was wonderful. -
Now I have a wonderful dilemma - I gave De Robertis powerful first novel 5 stars, but her second book is even better!
Powerfully written, with beautiful lyrical language, this is the tale of one young girl's life in the time of The Disappeared in Argentina. I was so drawn into Perla's story that I didn't even see the twists coming.
I can't wait for Di Robertis third novel (due next year) & she is one of my new favourite authors!
Best fiction I have read this year! -
One day a man shows up in the home Perla, of the title, shares with her parents. Her father, a high-ranking naval officer, and her mother are away in Uruguay on a vacation. This man constantly drips water and stinks of the sea, throwing Perla into a quandary - is he real? is he alive? - and distracting her from her first-year university studies. We learn along with her that he is one of the "Desaparecidos", the disappeared, of Argentina's recent past, and we also learn along with Perla why he has come to visit her.
It took me about half the book to become engaged, but then I was completely drawn in and am glad I read this powerful story about a tragic time in Argentina's history that is not so well-known here in the U.S. I thought the author did a great job of bringing her book to life in audio.
This is the February pick for our art museum's book club. I will be interested to hear what others thought and see the art they highlight in the docent-led tour. -
How did I let this magnificent novel sit unread on my shelf so long? It has been a while since I have been so moved and awed. This novel revolves around the desaparecidos (the disappeared) - those who were “disappeared” during Argentina’s military regime. (Of course very few of them were actually “subversives” acting against the military government, and their treatment was beyond atrocious.) But this is not just the story of past evil acts. It is very much the story of a young woman trying to come to terms with the life and love she has known from her military father (and complicit mother) as she grows in understanding of who she really is and who her parents really are. But even more impactful than the story (which was quite impactful) was the writing. It was beautiful and haunting and wonderful! This is the perfect Latin American novel – and of course there is magical realism. In most cases magical realism does not appeal to me, but in this instance it is not only well done – it is completely integral and necessary to the story. And the use of water – as a cause of death and as a way to reach between generations…….. The author used water so well in so many ways and references that water (my favorite element) became its own character. I am still not doing this novel justice - both its subject manner as well as the way it was written were powerful. I highly recommend this if you have any interest in Latin America or if you just want to read a moving novel.
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This is the second book I've tried to read by this author, and I just can't get any traction.
In this one she seems to go for two styles of writing, neither of which works for me.
Style #1 is dreamy and floaty and makes me feel like I'm under water. Or better yet, like I'm lying in a field of poppies....poppies....poppies.... Very soon the psychedelic fairies and butterflies will arrive to explain that someone slipped me some magic mushrooms.
Style #2 is more concrete, but it consists of those paragraph-long, comma-laden sentences I never get tired of hating.
Tough luck for me. Nothing can beat Lawrence Thornton when it comes to writing about the disappeareds. -
Perla is the story of a young woman who has discovered the horrible truth of her existence. Completely caught off guard by the truth of it, she must come to terms with this new knowledge when a mysterious wet man shows up in her living room. This man who has seemingly come from nowhere, with no signs of a break in, cannot talk and only wants water even though he is emaciated.
Right away, the man's presence captivated me. How did he get in to Perla's home? Who is this man? Why does Perla seem to be unafraid of him? Does this man truly exist? These questions remained in the forefront for me throughout Perla's journey to discover her origins. One thing is absolute, this man is the catalyst she needs for her to seek out the truth of her birth.
We quickly learn that in the late 70's and early 80's a
"Dirty War" took place in Argentina. During this time thousands of people were "disappeared", which sometimes included pregnant women. These people were abducted and never seen again, but the infants were often taken and placed with families tied to the military dictatorship in power at the time. Mothers of the disappeared started Madres de Plaza de Mayo in 1977 as a way to drawn attention to the disappeared. In later years, a secondary group that sprung from Madres de Plaza de Mayo, called Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo started using DNA evidence to link people who were taken from their parents during the dirty war.
Perla is seeing a man who has ties to the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo and encourages her to seek the truth when she starts to believe that she may be a child of the disappeared. He pressures her too much and she decides to abandon the man she loves rather than force herself to evaluate her father's misdeeds, due to the good relationship Perla has with her father. I believe the man who shows up in her home after this incident is a product of her imagination that forces her to seeks the truth as much as it may hurt.
As Perla works to solve this mystery, I found myself agonizing over wanting to know and not wanting to know the truth. This story, although profound, is absolutely beautiful. I find myself tearing up at this moment, from the emotions this novel brought out in me, not because it was sad, rather the sense of release it gave me at its close. As an introduction to the Dirty War that took place in Argentina, this is a sublime pick. I previous had no knowledge of the events that took place in Argentina when I was a young girl and find myself wanting to learn more after ready this truly wonderful piece of literature. WOW! So powerful! Highly recommended to all. -
Ich will mehr Literatur aus Südamerika lesen. Die Worte waren so warm. Beim Lesen musste ich an eine Kolleginn denken, mit der ich mich während eines Nachtflugs über Literatur im Allgemeinen ausgetauscht habe. Kurz vor dem Frühstücksservice hat sie gesagt, dass keiner so gefühlvoll wie Schriftstellerinnen aus Lateinamerika schreibt. Ja, habe ich mir gedacht, als ich das Buch zugeklappt habe.
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The Dirty War of Argentina (1975-1983), what dirty legacy has been left by this war on the Argentinian people? An answer to this question, through the distorted /skewed “writing lens” of magical realism, is what this novel offers you. Bizarrely enough, although the magical reality portrayed is nonsensical, you get an honest, a perceptive and a heart wrenching idea of the consequences of this war. I cannot say more without giving significant spoilers.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author. I believe a trained narrator would have done a better job. Dialog, verbal interplay between the characters, rings true; with that I have no complaint. I enjoyed the discordant, quick responses. However when the prose is philosophical, “deep” and full of portent, the tone becomes ludicrously slow and melodramatic. In these parts it feels like she wants to impress on the listener how important and significant these words are. Had the lines been read with less passion, I would have enjoyed them and thought the message was moving and noteworthy, in fact wonderful writing! I told myself to listen to the words, not her voice…… I tried re-listening to such sections and they improved. Maybe I am a picky listener, but tone and verbal inflection can change how you perceive the prose.
I do have some problems with this book.
I must add that if you need a story that sticks to strict reality, you may have a hard time reading this. I believe that the magical realism is so well executed that reality could be bent, and I usually cannot read fantastical stories!
Definitely worth reading, but I can only give it three stars because of the problems mentioned above in the spoiler. -
Επειγόμουν να διαλέξω κάτι εύκολο για τα μέσα μεταφοράς.
Ε, είδα το όνομα του τίτλου, λέω θα είναι η ιστορία καμιάς βασανισμένης ύπαρξης, θα το ξεκινήσω κι αν δε μ΄αρέσει από δω παν κι άλλα ....
Πέφτω μετά πάνω στο εξώφυλλο, έχω που έχω κι αυτή την αδυναμία με τα ηλίθια εξώφυλλα, ήμουν στο τσακ να μην μπω στον κόπο να το "φορτώσω" στο κινητό μου.
Ακόμα μία διάψευση της ζωής μου. Και να σκεφτεί κανείς ότι δινόταν δωρεάν με εφημερίδα και το έχασα (ασχέτως τού ότι αγοράζω σπανίως εφημερίδες).
Κανονικά δεν πρέπει να γράψω τίποτε, επειδή μεγάλο ��έρος της γοητείας του βιβλίου έγκειται στην ιστορία αυτή καθ΄εαυτή η οποία είναι συνυφασμένη με μια τραγική σελίδα της ιστορίας της Αργεντινής. Το βιβλίο ξεκινά με έναν πρόλογο, σκοπός του οποίου είναι να πληροφορηθεί ο αναγνώστης την ιστορική συγκυρία και να κατανοήσει την πλοκή. Αυτό κάνει την εξέλιξη κάπως προβλέψιμη και αυτό για μένα λειτούργησε αφαιρετικά για τα 5 αστέρια, τα οποία ίσως να άξιζε.
Άρα, έχουμε και λέμε : α) έκπληξη και ενοχή για τα στερεότυπα του εξωφύλλου, του τίτλου κλπ., β) έκπληξη για (την σχετικά γνωστή ιστορική περίοδο και) το τραγικό γεγονός της εξολόθρευσης των πολιτικών αντιπάλων με τον τρόπο που περιγράφεται, γ) θαυμάσια γραφή και απόδοση της ιστορίας, δ) πολύ καλή περιγραφή των συναισθηματικών μεταπτώσεων της Πέρλα, σχεδόν σαν να υπήρχε ο αναγνώστης στο μυαλό της, ε) ακόμα κάτι που έδρασε αφαιρετικά στο αστέρι της αριστείας ήταν η έλλειψη συγχώρεσης από την πλευρά της ηρωίδας. Τώρα, ποιος το λέει αυτό; ο άρχων της μη συγχώρεσης. Ναι, αλλά περίμενα από την πλοκή μία ρανίδα ευσπλαχνίας προς τους γονείς, έμοιαζε αναπόφευκτο, όμως δεν έγινε, στ) εξαιρετική η φωνή, μια αθώα, έκπληκτη φωνή που περιγράφει μια ζωή - μη ζωή, η φωνή του απρόσκλητου επισκέπτη της Πέρλα.
Ένα θαυμάσιο βιβλίο, μια εξαιρετική συγγραφέας και μια επιθυμία να διαβάσω και επόμενα δικά της.
Διάβαζε ο Ηρακλής Στρούγγης, ωραία όπως πάντα.
Τελικά, κατάφερα να βρω το βιβλίο σε ένα πάγκο με μεταχειρισμένα, οπότε προστέθηκε στο ράφι της μόνιμης συλλογής μου. -
In the late seventies and early eighties, Argentina was ruled by a military junta that came to power in a violent coup. The junta waged what was known as the Dirty War against guerillas and other leftists, leading to the “disappearance” and death of as many as 30,000 people, including pregnant women whose babies were often sent to live with members of the regime. While I knew that Argentina had experienced long bouts of political unrest, thanks to the likes of Evita, I had never heard of the genocide until I read this book, which tells the story of a daughter of one of the military officers who took part in the junta.
Perla was born as the junta was coming to a close. While she knows that her father took part in activities that are deemed evil by others, she remains ignorant to many of the details and loyal to her family. As a young woman, she becomes romantically involved with a journalist who works to make public the atrocities committed by the junta, to identify the members who are immune to prosecution and to reunite mothers with their abducted children. Gabriel does not learn of Perla’s lineage until a year into their relationship and while it leads to tension, their romance last four more years until just before the start of the book.
After a falling out of sorts with Gabriel, Perla returns to her parents’ home to begin a new semester of graduate study in Buenos Aires. She is startled one night to discover a naked, wet man has broken into her home. He can barely move or speak, and has almost no memory of what has happened to him or how he came to be in her parents’ living room. Perla decides to care for the man, and over time begins to piece together his story and how it ties into her own.
There were times when this book frustrated me. In one of the earliest scenes, Perla discovers the wet man and inexplicably decides to leave him there while she goes to class. The suspension of disbelief this required on my part was pretty steep, but I pressed on. I frequently had to stop to read Wikipedia articles just to understand exactly what Perla’s father had been involved with. Also, can all major publishers come together to agree that they will not publish a book that fails to properly use quotation marks to denote dialogue? That shit drives me up the wall, even when it's used strategically.
Still, I was drawn in by Perla’s story and the issues it explored, namely the notion of Perla’s guilt for atrocities committed by her father that she had no involvement in and very little knowledge of. There's a lot of emotional heft to the story and it's definitely well-written. -
One day, Perla arrives home to find a strange man in her parents' living room, with no sign of how he entered. The man is soaked and oozes water all the time. A growing bond develops between the two as their back stories are told via flashbacks: The stranger is one of the “disappeared”, a victim of Argentina's Dirty War, speaks of his horrendous torture and his lost family. Meanwhile, Perla remembers her childhood, her strong relationship with her Papa and odd relationship with her mother, and her recent estrangement from her writer boyfriend. , but the reveal is slow and quite well done. There is some beautiful imagery in Buenos Aires and Uruguay, and I liked how the geraniums which Perla plants with her mother were an allegory for the Dirty War itself. The book was a bit slow and meandering or I would have given 4 stars.
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This book is not for everyone. Not for the squeamish. Not for those who have difficulty suspending disbelief.
I love this book. It all came together at the end and touched me deeply. Books that make me cry generally get 5 stars, thus my rating.
Lyrical and multi-faceted on the meaning of family. I hope my daughter reads this someday. -
Perla by Carolina De Robertis is a historical fiction book about Argentina’s Dirty War. The author is a daughter to Uruguayan parents, but her grandparents were Argentineans in exile.
Perla, a young woman and a university student, seeks to find answers. The tradition in her family is to not to ask questions, especially about her father’s activities during the time known as Argentina’s Dirty War. As Perla grows up, she separates her family life from her personal life.
One day, after Perla arrives home she finds a strange man in her living room. The man is soaked and oozes water all the time, surprising even herself, Perla reacts to this “vision” by giving him food and shelter only to realize that he is one of the “disappeared”, a victim of the Dirty War, and might hold the key to her past.
I very much enjoyed The Invisible Mountain and when I got the email to ask if I’d like to join the tour for Carolina De Robertis’ Perla I jumped at the opportunity. The novel has many aspects one could see it from it is a coming of age story, historical literature and supernatural aspects so prominent in Latin literature.
One thing is for certain, Ms. De Robertis can write, Perla is a beautiful novel about an ugly situation. Even the parts about the horrendous acts the Argentinean government committed against its own people are beautifully written.
“The day the black boots came for him was a pretty day, with bright blue slices of sky between the buildings”.
As in many of the books I read, especially about World War II, I always ponder what makes good people do bad things?
Could it be the herd mentality?
The firm belief that you are actually keeping the country together?
That you are the “good guys” in the story?
This type of questions are a part of the story which the author tackles. Ms. De Robertis tell her tale focusing on the long term affects of the war blending history, fiction, shame, honor and magic in an engrossing yarn. The author offers just enough context within the story to appreciate the history which the story revolves around, while certainly not a definitive historical book, it is not meant to be as such, but simply wets the apatite to read some more.
Perla is an elegant, poetic and deceptively simple book which tells of a young woman coming to grip with her own history at the time Argentina comes to grip with its own past.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit:
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com -
I found this book very tedious and had it not been for a reading challenge I would have moved on with no remorse. The subject matter was important but it just didn't deliver. It could have been so much more. I found it to be overwritten and flouncy. The magical realism seemed really out of place, and I am not anti-magical realism. For a subject that is so deep the story ended up being very shallow. Not for me. I am a little confused as to how it has received so many glowing reviews. Each to their own I suppose!
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I was drawn into this story, in spite of the magical realism. The deeper I got into it, however, the more strongly I wished The Wet Man character would have been rethought and eliminated. I so would have liked the content he provides to have been presented in another way. The story and its political backdrop would have been, for me, much stronger without his intrusive, surreal and out of place presence.
The magical realism seems forced and out of place here. A huge mistake. -
Perla is a gorgeous novel written about an ugly time in Argentina's recent history. It is the story of one young woman raised to adore her military father, who gradually discovers who he is and, in the process, who she is, too. If you can appreciate magical realism, and are curious about South American politics, you'll appreciate this book.
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(The author uses both she and they pronouns, so I will use both here.)
Carolina de Robertis is now two for two and I absolutely have to read everything else she has written or will ever write. You should, too. Like right now.
This was incredible. Honestly, sheer genius, if I may be so bold. Despite its short length, it's one of the most substantive novels I've ever read. The way de Robertis crafted this indelible story around the horrific history of citizens in Argentina who were "disappeared" by the dictatorship and what happened to their children was so masterful. They blended just the right amount of truth and invention and magical realism, producing a story that honors the real people it represents by giving us fictional characters who seem no different from them. Perla is a character I will never forget, especially knowing that she stands in for thousands of lives either cut short or violently altered by the regime. I found myself getting quite verklempt as revelations come about in the story, and Perla's reactions to everything were all so genuine and authentic that my heart was breaking for her over and over. I also loved the way her visitor is portrayed and the way his memories come together for him and the reader, slowly and opaquely at first, with this crescendo toward realization and recognition.
Like probably a lot of people outside of Argentina, I knew very little about this part of its history. We hear about various dictatorships that have taken hold in South American countries over the years, but it's often sort of vague and certainly here in the US, it's never delved into in school or anything, much to our collective national shame. It's crucial for any citizen of the world to do their best to understand the lives and realities of others, no matter how far away they may be from us, if only to bear witness to their presence and be part of the mark they leave merely by existing. While there are portions of this book that are extremely difficult to read, one must remember that it pales in comparison to actually experiencing the terror being described to us. I'm grateful to de Robertis for doing what she could to bring this truth to the world.
The writing is just as gorgeous here as it was in
Cantoras, with the same stunning ability of the author to be evocative and lush without ever getting purple or so wordy that you get lost by the end of the paragraph. Her writing has that kind of almost poetic quality that lets the reader flow along with it so smoothly, and hooks you in sharply but gently. Even the harrowing parts are written in a way that the overwhelming emotional response you have is not fear or aversion, but the deepest grief and compassion for the victims, this yearning to reach out and rescue them.
I just was absolutely amazed by this book, and once again by the author. They're definitely an auto-buy now, one I'll be constantly recommending to others.
I shared a few quotes in my progress updates, though honestly there were dozens more I could've added. In particular, there are two longer passages I really want to put out there, to hopefully convince you to read this if I haven't already:There's that feeling that comes when you read something and the lines speak directly to you, and to you only, even though the person who wrote them died long before you were born, or, even if alive, has no idea you exist. The words seep right into your mind. They pour into your secret hollows and take their shape, a perfect fit, like water. And you are slightly less alone in the universe, because you have been witnessed, because you have been filled, because someone once found words for things within you that you couldn't yourself name—something gesturing not only toward what you are, but what you could become. In that sense, books raise you in a way your parents can't. They emancipate you.
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There are some experiences that only you can enter, that only you can truly hold. They are too vast to be imparted. You cannot even hold them wholly in your arms: they spill over into the dark beyond you, brimming, shooting out in ropes of light that make you ache with loneliness and yet yoke you to the world at the same time, because the vast things that have happened to you, however terrible, were always born out of the world, and so perhaps they offer you a place even as they push you out of another, even as they weigh you down with a self that can never fully be conveyed. Though most of us will try. We make bonds, we grow trust, we tell stories; we strive to articulate what it took to become who we are. Sometimes, if we're very fortunate, our listeners catch authentic glimpses of what we mean to say, like sparks in a dark room, but never the whole of it at once, not even with the best of friends or closest lover, because the whole of it at once is beyond speaking. It lives nowhere, absolutely nowhere, except inside your skin. That's where it flares, enormous, hazardous, utterly yours.
Perfection. Just fucking perfection. Loved it. -
Simply amazing. One of the best books I've read in a long time. No review I could write would do it justice. Some of the most beautiful writing.
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I admit I wasn't sure if I'd really 'get into' this book. The words are almost formless in the beginning, full of watery fluidity, which highlights the magical realism used by De Robertis to tell the story of a woman brought up sheltered in a wealthy military family until she jumps "into" the water, in a sense, opens her eyes, and discovers that all is not seems with her parents and with the truth about the Argentinian "disappeared" in the '70s. I learned much about this Argentinian history as I floated into Perla's new reality. Sometimes the description of her awakening was a bit too floaty and eloquent for me, but as I dove further into the book, I got caught up in the beautiful, deep, intense story and Perla's awakening. I've given the book 5 stars because 10 days after I read it, the characters and scenes remain with me.
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This is the second time I have deliberately not rated a book. I don’t know what I just read….
This is not a writing style that resonates with me. Being unfamiliar with Latin American history and culture, this story did not pull me in. It was not told in a way that coherently exposed me or made me feel connected.
Strong language and the utterly disrespectful way that God was referred to and even “addressed” bothered me. I had no good feelings, it actually made me feel bad. I skipped through and delayed finishing because I couldn’t take much more of the aforementioned.
That’s it.
Challenge #41B -
Before stumbling upon this book, I had never even heard of Argentina's Dirty War, which took place in the late 70's and early 80's. Argentina's right wing military dictatorship kidnapped, held, and tortured people, and many were drugged, boarded onto airplanes, then dropped in the Atlantic Ocean to drown. It is estimated that there are up to 30,000 desaparecidos from the Dirty War. How could I have missed that?
Having lived in Chile, I knew about Pinochet's military coup and dictatorship, and the Disappeared in that country. In one of my areas in Chile there was a tall, disheveled man who would walk around the neighborhood muttering. Some locals told us that he had been tortured in '73, and since then had never been the same. I recently spoke with a man born in El Salvador whose family escaped when there was a coup and civil war in their country in the late 70's and early 80's. His childhood friends were all killed. A few years ago I knew a Peruvian widow who, with her husband, had to move their family to Brazil when Communists took control of Peru. So in other words, there was horrific human suffering in Latin America in the last half of the twentieth century due to political upheaval. How is this not more well known? So I was looking forward to reading this book. These people's stories are crying out to be told.
Even with all my interest in the subject matter, I only made it 1/3 of the way through this book. I have never been a fan of magical realism. (What is it with South American authors and magical realism?) I can see how it does work in this story. It's an effective device in this case, and adds an interesting bit of mystery: You are trying to figure out if a) Perla's guest is real, and the author wants us to enter this world with Perla, or b) it is all in Perla's head. Since Perla is a psychology student, that could make sense. Ironically, even with the magical realism with Perla's guest, it is he and his compelling story that kept me reading as long as I did.
Also, the writing is floaty and dreamlike (which, if I have it right, is another element of magical realism), which is lovely, but sometimes it goes over the line into just being overwritten. I would find myself rushing through all the baloney to get through a sentence. My reading time is precious. I felt like all the baloney was wasting my time. I do understand why many find this book beautifully written. It is beautifully written. It's just not my thing.
Another thing I didn't get into was how the author focuses on sex more than I think was necessary. Perla's sex life with her boyfriend, her one night stand, her secret thoughts as a teenager, her guest's memories with his wife – and that's only in the first third of the book. Ugh. Basta.
I did flip through the last 2/3, and I read the ending. Beautiful ending. Powerful. So while the subject matter is compelling and very worthwhile, the author's stylistic choices made it so it just wasn't my cup of tea. I do, however, think that most readers out there will probably enjoy it and learn a lot about the Dirty War along the way. -
State-sponsored terrorism during Argentina’s Dirty War was employed in order to eradicate political subversives. Although the junta claimed that their repression tactics were aimed at radical guerilla groups, it was actually enforced against the general population. Years later, there is still an unaccounted for number—over 30,000—of “los desaparecidos,” (The Disappeared) the people that were abducted and tortured, or thrown from airplanes into the ocean.
PERLA is the story that takes place after the war, of one young woman in Buenos Aires whose father was a Navy officer, and her mother a native Uruguayan from a prominent family. Perla is an intelligent, beautiful young college student, acutely aware that her father supported the deposed military dictatorship. However, her love for her Papa is so strong, and abundant with fond childhood memories, that Perla doesn’t want to face the possibility that her father was a monster.
Perla falls in love with a compassionate, leftwing journalist, who entreats her to look deeper into her family, and investigate her father’s crimes. Conflicted, Perla breaks it off with him and secludes herself, only to be surprised by an astonishing visitor. Conveying the story through magical realism and passionate, undulating prose, De Robertis tells a coming-of-age story of an impassioned young woman standing at the chasm of truth. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights organization seeking to find out the fate of los desaparecidos, campaign publicly and daily, also provoking clashing thoughts and fears in Perla’s heart and mind.
This redemption story is intense, powerful, and concentrated. Her themes, like in INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN, are rich in history and evoke questions of home and identity. INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN was a sprawling, multi-generational novel with many characters. This one is more circumscribed, although there are fingers, tentacles that reach across oceans, alert the reader of forced disappearance all over the globe. This is an emotionally potent, surreal, and arresting tale. It edifies but doesn’t preach. I was thoroughly moved by De Robertis’ lyrical, formidable narrative and swept away by Perla’s unforgettable story. -
Beautifully poetic, sad and hopeful. This is a story about the inscrutability of cruelty, the imagined difference between people and amorphous, slippery survival. Ms. DeRobertis is a brilliant writer. She and her wife live in Oakland, CA, but she writes magical realism as naturally as Allende or Puig. Really delicious.
