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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I had such high hopes for this book and this is less a review than an expression of my impressions. After the wonderful reviews I'd read, it was like a carrot I dangled in front of me, my reward for getting through some difficulties. Instead, it mostly reminded me of everything I dislike about academia. I admire how Francisco Goldman wrote what is essentially a memoir as a piece of fiction. Structurally, this makes perfect sense because of the speculative nature of many chapters. He writes in and around and through the massive hole in his life that is his deceased wife. There is a lot to unpack about memory and forgetting, which would likely be done in exactly the sort of academic program that produced, confounded and angered Aura. There is much to like and admire, but somehow this story lacked the personal connection I had hoped to find.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An intensely personal meditation on grief... but as I read recently a meditation is just a way of saying a book has no story. I read to the end because it was well written. But there was nothing making me turn the pages. And I didn't especially like the main characters. Their relationship didn't play true. Sometimes it seemed unhealthy, even a bit creepy. I was relieved to get to the last page.
An interesting meditation on his wife's life, legacy, and how he is surviving after the untimely death of his wife and the snuffing out of his dreams of a family.
Es un libro bastante triste y melancólico. Y que puede tocar fibras sensibles, más aquellos que han perdido a algún amor. Es casi todas la etapas por las que pasó el autor dentro de la desgracia de perder a su esposa.
Aunque ya sabes como termina, sigue siendo triste ver el desenlace de la historia.
Aunque ya sabes como termina, sigue siendo triste ver el desenlace de la historia.
Enjoyed but did not love. I think Goldman did capture exactly what was so luminous about his wife, though. It was a lovely tribute.
After finishing this book I want to do a few things:
1. read The Ordinary Seaman
2. Go to Mexico
3. live a writer's life
1. read The Ordinary Seaman
2. Go to Mexico
3. live a writer's life
Hold her tight, if you have her; hold her tight, I thought, that's my advice to all the living. Breathe her in, put your nose in her hair, breathe her in deeply. Say her name. It will always be her name. Not even death can steal it. Same alive as dead, always Aura Estrada.
This memoir, part memoir, part love letter to a very dear wife, is at times painful to read. Francisco Goldman writes with the purpose to remember, to never forget, who Aura was, and the loss he's endured is felt on every page, every little detail heartbreakingly rendered, at times even bordering on obsessive. Tidbits of Aura's own writing and her diary entries are included as well. While I was reading this, I had the constant impulse to flip to the back flap to see the wedding picture of Aura and Francisco, as to further solidify the love they had for one another, a love that Francisco clearly feels still.
Aura is very much alive among these pages - a young woman with writing ambitions that were on the verge of coming true - despite being cheated of this life by a swimming accident during a vacation in 2005. The author takes his time narrating her life; sometimes the passages shift seamlessly into his own before he's met Aura. Through the characters in her life: Juanita, Rodrigo, Hector, Katia, Fabis...we learn of Aura's hopes, dreams, fears, insecurities, and even bits and pieces of her that Francisco has not yet been able to decipher.
It's very personal, so much at times I feel as if I shouldn't be reading about it all, but this book is a testament to how much Aura Estrada has affected the author's life. It truly is a labour of love, and the ultimate dedication to her memory. She won't ever be forgotten.
This memoir, part memoir, part love letter to a very dear wife, is at times painful to read. Francisco Goldman writes with the purpose to remember, to never forget, who Aura was, and the loss he's endured is felt on every page, every little detail heartbreakingly rendered, at times even bordering on obsessive. Tidbits of Aura's own writing and her diary entries are included as well. While I was reading this, I had the constant impulse to flip to the back flap to see the wedding picture of Aura and Francisco, as to further solidify the love they had for one another, a love that Francisco clearly feels still.
Aura is very much alive among these pages - a young woman with writing ambitions that were on the verge of coming true - despite being cheated of this life by a swimming accident during a vacation in 2005. The author takes his time narrating her life; sometimes the passages shift seamlessly into his own before he's met Aura. Through the characters in her life: Juanita, Rodrigo, Hector, Katia, Fabis...we learn of Aura's hopes, dreams, fears, insecurities, and even bits and pieces of her that Francisco has not yet been able to decipher.
It's very personal, so much at times I feel as if I shouldn't be reading about it all, but this book is a testament to how much Aura Estrada has affected the author's life. It truly is a labour of love, and the ultimate dedication to her memory. She won't ever be forgotten.
I had mixed feelings about this one and ended up not finishing it, as I was craving lighter fun fare for the holiday. It was well written, as one would expect from a frequent New Yorker contributor, and the author thoroughly convinced me that he valued and appreciated all the intelligent quirkiness and love of his wife. I was not as entranced by her, so after reading through about 200 pages I skipped through to the end to find out about the accident that took her life and called it a day.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes