La víspera del hombre

by René Marqués

La acción de la novela se inicia en los meses que preceden al temporal San Felipe en el 1928. El autor abarca, como trasfondo verídico, un periodo crucial en la historia de Puerto Rico. Se trata de una intensa y humana tragedia de amor de Pirulo por Lita, por su tierra, por la humanidad doliente puertorriqueña que busca agónicamente un sentido a su vida, un destino digno hacia el cual elevar su recóndita fe colectiva, su angustiada y última esperanza

Genres: Fiction, Spanish Literature, School

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Renowned Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright. Member of what was known in Puerto Rico as "The Generation of the 40's", a group of intellectuals headed by Lorenzo Homar.

Reviews

[Rolando · Rating 4 out of 5]

While its melodrama may seem dated, the novel's picturesque scenes give the reader a sense of rural plantation life in mid-twentieth century Puerto Rico. Moreover, the presence of symbolic dichotomies allows for great analysis: freedom/slavery, patria/USA, pride and cowardice, honor and disgrace.

The portrait that the novel offers is tainted with nationalist melancholy. The theme of the "patria" or "nation" is prominent, and though sometimes Pirulo, the main character, feels like a mere conduit for Marqués's ideas, he is still rendered fully. Marqués, along with other writers of his generation, accepted the coming of change with weary and exhausted pride, sad but still believing in the future generations for redemption. This novel shows that sentiment really well. Yet, in full modernist fashion, desperation is always at the eve, as is the sun.

[Carmen Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The action of the novel, published in 1958, begins in the months that precede the storm of San Felipe in 1928. It has a somewhat heartbreaking and dramatic theme. The main characters are: Pirulo, Don Rafa, Lita, Félix, and Raúl. It doesn't have much dialogue. Is about the love of Pirulo, a boy who has reached adolescence, for Lita, for his land, for his people. The novel shows Pirulo's interest in Puerto Ricans who suffer in search of better well-being and meaning for their lives without losing faith and hope. In the background, the longing for independence of an island develops, which has ceased to be a colony of Spain to become a US territory. Nature is so real and beautifully described that you can even hear, smell and see what the author presents. It is a work rich in vocabulary and of excellent literary quality that moves all the senses. I love it. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

[ale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitivamente una de las mejores lecturas que hehecho en la vida. Lectura emotiva y vital. Wow....

[GioMode · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get that this guy was a big deal back in his days...but this story is just fully misogynistic, chauvinistic, and the storytelling drags on and on. Look, I get that because of the time this writer was alive that ideals were quite off but...they should stop having this book in the school curriculums. I don't think kids needs to read about two pre-teens having constipated sex at the beach. Let's educate them about sex but not in that way...eesh. There's better books and with better imagery without having to oversexualize children.

[Ale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am just speechless....

[Lepensuer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro presenta la triste realidad de una época no muy lejana y resultado del colonialismo abusivo, de la pobreza y la ignorancia.

[ixchelle414 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me acordó mucho a un escritor que he leído antes. No falla en mencionar y en hacerte sentir lo terrible e insoportable que es el crecer. Cada humano nace sano y completo, y su crecimiento erróneo derrama todas las posibilidades de la felicidad.
"El problema no era, pues, buscar el sentido de la vida, sino vivirla sin esperanza alguna de encontrar su sentido."

[lol · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Hoy solo era la víspera. El día sería mañana.”

when i first finished this, i thought i didn’t like it that much, but, now that i’m studying for the exam, i realized that i actually really like it. i really enjoy the existential thoughts of pirulo, the main character, and what’s basically his journey growing up. the writing is really good and atmospheric.

[Claudia R · Rating 2 out of 5]

They made us read this in ninth grade. While it is a coming of age novel, I don't think it was an appropriate one. I think it scarred us.

It is boring for... 3/4? The last pages are really intense and disturbing.

Killing someone with a machete? Gruesome.

[Alaila]

drxfghj

[Catalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story follows the life and the process of growing up of a puertorrican boy, Pirulo, in parallel to the industrialization of the island.

[Carolina O. Alicea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta historia me da mucha curiosidad por leer las otras obras del autor. Pirulo me inspira ganas de llorar, por las injusticias de la vida. Buen libro. Te hace pensar sobre muchas cosas.