Paradise

by Elena Castedo

1st trade paperback printing. Highly praised first novel by this writer who was born in Spain and raised in Chile. Nominated for the National Book Award. Told from the point of view of a 10 year old girl, reviewers compared this satiric novel to both 'Huckeberry Finn' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and authors were equally unrestrained in their comments - with Robert Stone calling the best novel he had read all year and Paul West describing it as the 'most ebullient first novel I've read in years.'

Genres: Fiction, Literature

328 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1990

Reviews

[Aileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book a three because the setting and subject matter were intriguing. However, the book was ostensibly told from the first person but Castedo more often used third person to provide the vivid descriptions. I found myself skimming this book after a while. However, I enjoyed the historical aspect, the snobbery among children, class differences and immigrants with a variet yof political causes. This book had strong potential, but fell flat.

[Diane Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children want to be grownups. However, being a grownup isn’t always easy. There are political pressures. There are social pressures. There is the immigrant issue. Money and class certainly figures in. At times I was frustrated that the narrator was a child and her information was limited because of her age and position. Being well behaved doesn’t give any power to Solita.. The ending is a surprise to her and us.

[A. Piña · Rating 2 out of 5]

should have had more violence from her part, i would have killed all of them

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Castedo does a great job in developing her protagonist,10 yr-old Solita who is from the ghetto and finds herself transported to a luxurious hacienda of wealthy adults and spoiled children. Her innocent view of her surroundings is both charming and funny. This book was nominated for a National Book Award in 1990.

[Castedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching and funny award-winning novel about a family of European refugees, vividly shows a world unknown to American readers; the rich, the poor and the in-between in Latin-America in the 40s and 50s.

[Elizabeth McQuillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wonderful neighbor, Elena! Fascinating layers. No wonder the details are described so perfectly from a child's perspective--they are her own memories.