Dona Ines Vs. Oblivion: A Novel

by Gregory Rabassa (Translator)

Translated by Gregory Rabassa. Fine condition in a fine dust jacket.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, The World, Speculative Fiction, Latin American

243 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Gregory Rabassa was a literary translator from Spanish and Portuguese to English who taught at Queens College. His translations include works by literary giants such as António Lobo Antunes, Jorge Amado, Mario Vargas Llosa, José Lezama Lima, Gabriel García Márquez and Eça de Queirós.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Venezula

Women today are flighty. Did you know that women get bored? I never did; I didn't have time.

Nothing was gained from dictatorships either, and they had to invent democracy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was unable to finish this book which is rare for me, and unfortunate given the scarcity of books by Venezuelan authors that have been translated into English (this is the only one written by a woman, as far as I can tell). While I try to be open to different viewpoints, spending many hours in the head of a blatantly racist/colonialist narrator was a bit much for me. In addition, I felt the book was poorly written overall. Intergenerational sagas can be tough to pull off in general, but this book doesn’t even come close; I never found a single character I could connect to. It did lead to an interesting discussion in my book club about the differences between having a character who is racist/sexist/etc. and a book that is racist/sexist/etc. altogether. Those who finished the book confirmed that the narrator’s racist views were never challenged in any way, suggesting the latter. I was hoping for a sweeping view of Venezuelan history but left disappointed and surprised that this book received such good reviews.

[Matías Piccoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un prolijo recorrido por 3 siglos de historia de Venezuela, que como todos los de la Patria Grande se ha construido a base de atropellos y disputas. La novela oscila entre realidad y ficción, con finas gotas de ironía.

Como el título presagia, este recorrido lo hace Doña Inés, que "recuerda" hechos de su época y otros posteriores a su partida. Una combinación entre historia general y anecdotario familiar donde el valor lo pone el relato, y no cuánto de lo que se cuenta es verdad y cuánto no.

Reproduce muy bien las escenas y entornos, en especial la transición entre una época y otra. También se hacen presentes la desigualdad social y económica, así como de género, que perduran hasta nuestros días.

[Becki Iverson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just can’t with this book. The racist attitude towards South American slaves, the narrator’s haughty and lengthy rambles, the petty attention to detail... it just couldn’t engage me. I don’t think you have to like all the characters you read about, but I couldn’t tell the author’s intent with this and I feel like I was asked to be complicit in policies I have no agreement with. I really wanted to read this to learn more about Venezuelan history but I feel like most of what I read was a petty imaginary family spat, and it just didn’t do it for me. If you want to read an intimate, intergenerational narrative about the history of a tough subject, read Homegoing instead.

[Chul-hyun Ahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angry voice of a ghost from the colonial era of Venezuela tells what she witnessed of the lives of those who are related to her, directly or indirectly, and their decendents. Apparently, her death did not put her on a plane of enlightenment and serenity. Her all-seeing eyes do not rest and none can hide his/her secret shame and desires from the ghost's biased, petty and emotionally-charged banter and sarcasm.

[James F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered a "contemporary classic" of Venezuelan literature (at least according to the publisher's description on Amazon), this is a historical novel told by the ghost of Doña Inés, a wealthy aristocrat born at the end of the seventeenth century. The history of Venezuela from the colonial period through the war of independence and the slave rebellions of the nineteenth century, the civil wars and military dictatorships of the twentieth century to the present-day of the novel (it ends in the mid-1980s) is organized around the lives of the descendants of Doña Inés and of the Black overseer of her hacienda, and the complicated property disputes concerning the land she once owned. Much of the narrative is addressed to her husband Alejandro, a former slave named Juan del Rosario who founded a Black settlement on part of her land (which her husband may or may not have given him), and other characters who are also dead.

This is a more difficult book than most historical novels because so many political figures from the early Spanish governors to the long succession of ruling generals are alluded to without any context; I think one would need to be Venezuelan to really follow the thread of the political history. The family history on the other hand is fairly clear and the stories of many of the characters are interesting and sometimes moving.

[Indira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha sido mi primer encuentro con esta escritora y quede gratamente sorprendida por su hermosa narrativa. Y aunque debo confesar que esta novela demanda mucha atención como lector (varias veces tuve que volver al inicio de los capítulos) me parece que esta muy bien escrita , por mi parte disfrute mucho todo el litigio de Doña Inés contra el olvido.

Por otro lado la novela te ayuda a poner en orden cronológico los diferentes hechos históricos que marcaron tanto la colonización, independencia , dictaduras y la llegada de la famosa democracia de Venezuela ( probablemente si eres un lector que no está familiarizado en lo mas mínimo con la historia del país, esto contribuya a que la lectura sea e extremadamente tediosa) .

PD :Quizás la traducción al inglés no le ha justicia a la hermosa prosa que usa la escritora a lo largo de la novela ( es lo que intuyo por los reviews que he visto de la novela) y es algo que suele pasar.

“Es inútil el recuerdo, Alejandro, he podido comprenderlo. Es estéril como un árbol macho; cuantos más recuerdos se almacenen, más es necesario olvidar. En este país de la democracia yo soy puro recuerdo”

[Andrea De Gouveia Dias · Rating 5 out of 5]

No puedo simplemente asimilar lo que significa este libro para Venezuela y para la mujer. Sin duda una historia contada desde una mantuana, desde un cadáver que nunca se desliga de su condición de mujer, es una historia alternativa sobre los suceso de un país en lleno de promesas, un intento de crear un discurso narrativo para retratar la memoria y no perder ante el olvido, simplemente magistral.

Para aquellos que condena la novela de mala porque su personaje principal es racista, sexista, amargada, rencorosa, conservadora...y para de contar, cosa que claramente Doña Inés si es...no puedo creer que me obliguen a afirma esta frase tan repetitiva y pretenciosa, pero ustedes, lamentablemente, no entendieron el libro.

[Elisama Lyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realmente a la gente que no le gustó o no sabe español o no entendió
Un libro en sí, es un acto de resistencia, que utiliza la memória como herramienta. Sea para la lucha de Inés mantener las tierras que ella dice ser suyas, cuanto para Juan del Rosario, representación de la resistencia de los esclavizados y afrodescendientes y de los cambios que vinieron después de la independencia en Venezuela.
Un libro interesante escrito en primera persona por la visión de una personaje que se beneficiaba de esa estructura colonial y que intenta todo lo posible para manter su status social y como mujer, su status de poder.

[Ben Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book but never quite enjoyable or compelling. Seeing multiple generations through the eyes of a dead woman and covering a generations long law suit is an interesting idea and it is pretty well executed. The narrator isnt a very pleasant or for that matter interesting one but the story was still told with wit and some lightness of touch.

Was still a bit of a slog getting through it.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Global Read 187: Venezuela

I couldn't really get into this book. It was repetitive and rambling. It was a creative idea to have a ghost take us through the history of Venezuela, I just found the execution lacking. Also the protagonist is so distasteful that I didn't want to hear her take on Venezuelan history.

[Linda Vergara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will give it five stars. It is not easy to read historical novels and much more difficult when they are translated, especially for the Sajas[on audience, who are used to read themselves and find it strange to read the stories of the otherness. Ana Teresa Torre compels that reader to continue reading, and if she is honest, to the end. Nothing to envy to Virginia Wolf's Orlando.

[Jesús Luces · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al igual que en La Exilio del Tiempo, llevar la historia a través de memorias y recuerdos, confirma un estilo particular de Ana Teresa Torres. Sus narraciones permiten recrear los momentos que en familia, junto a abuelos, tíos, padres, y uno chiquitito, en qué escucha las anécdotas que nos dan identidad. Lectura acogedora.

[Mafer Barron · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Es until el recuerdo…es estéril como un árbol macho; cuantos mas recuerdos se almacenen, más es necesario olvidarlos.”

“Yo tengo la razón que me da el pasado y tú la que te da el futuro.”

“…se había instalado en él una certeza, la de sentirse irremediablemente comprometido a un amor equivocado.”

Bookquotes

[Fernando Arévalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una novela terriblemente tediosa. La tuve que leer durante mis estudios universitarios. Sin embargo, me gustó. Es cierto que uno se puede perder entre tanto detalles y personajes, pero por alguna razón me pareció entretenida.

[Cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the full review and a short analysis of the gender gap and some initiatives or projects that are working to improve the situation of the women in Venezuela visit:
https://fictionbywomenmap.wordpress.c...

Doña Inés contra el olvido (Doña Inés vs Oblivion) is something between a magic realism novel and a chronicle of Venezuela. Doña Inés, the heiress of one of the largest haciendas from colonial times in Venezuela, is obsessed with recovering a piece of land that her husband supposedly gave as a gift to Juan del Rosario, a freed slave from their hacienda so that he could settle a town for the freed slaves in the area. Doña Inés dies, and it is actually her ghost, who cannot rest because of this land issue, that keeps telling the story. The book spans for almost 300 years, from the early XVIII century until 1985, following Inés’ descendants and other stories of people involved with her family or land.
Although some (few) fragments of the book are a bit tedious, it almost feels like a history lesson, Ana Teresa Torres achieves to recount the history of her country in an interesting and (sometimes) funny way: from the point of view of a woman that was born in the colonial times. Doña Inés is not a likable character, she is racist, resentful and petty.
...
This book was not an easy read. As I mentioned before, sometimes it felt like reading a history book. Also, the first part was exhausting, following the bureaucratic dealings of the land titles; I could hardly deal with how racist and bitter Doña Inés was. I almost stopped reading at some point. However, as the story moves forward, where Doña Inés is not so involved, there are some beautiful fragments, characters, and stories that I really enjoyed. In the end, I’m glad I got to finish the book, but I was definitely expecting more.

Our long-term goal is to read one book written by a female author from every country of the world. Follow our progress!
https://fictionbywomenmap.wordpress.com/
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[Poli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice storyline full of excellent characters which make us understand part of Venezuela's history though it is strange to have it narrated by a dead person who was already dead when most of the events happened...