My Darling Dead Ones

by Erika De Vasconcelos

In this luminous first novel that sings into being a haunting story of women's lives, Erika de Vasconcelos follows the connections that remain when you move from a European past to a North American present, the emotional legacies you inherit, the bonds that hold or break.

Genres: Canada, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jim Fonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Edited and pictures added 6/15/20)

When I first wrote this review I was amazed that I was only the second reader to review this work. (Now there are 8.)

This is a wonderful, powerful women’s story that deserves a wide readership. It’s a book about women and their personal and family issues: love, raising a family, births, deaths, abortion, adultery and affairs. Men, as the narrator tells us anyone can see from family photos, are largely absent. They are mentioned, especially in a chapter called “Rage” but the world of women largely revolves without them, not around them.




The writing is at times intense, at times ironic, but always lively with many notable turns of phrase.

This is also a book about Portuguese culture, or transplanted Portuguese culture, and in that sense it is a kindred work to a growing body of truly excellent writing by Portuguese Americans and Portuguese Canadians (as is this author). Its personal intensity from a woman’s perspective reminds me of Saudade by Katherine Vaz; It’s homage to Portuguese ancestors reminds me of The Undiscovered Island by Darrell Kastin, and its matriarchic focus reminds me of Sue Fagalde Lick’s Stories Grandma Never Told: Portuguese Women in California.

The Portuguese flavor shows through directly in stories of the mythical Portuguese figures of Queens Isabella and Inez, and indirectly in many ways ranging from the irreligiosity of the women (Portugal has one of the lowest church-going rates in Europe) to wanting multi-colored lights on Christmas trees. (My non-Portuguese wife insists on monochrome too.)




I thought it was a good read but I note that it has a fairly low rating on GR (3.1) but only 45 ratings.

A store in Toronto's Little Portugal from flickr.com
The author from besthomesto.com

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose is quite good and there are many nuggets of lyricism and poignant dialogue scattered throughout this short but interesting novel. The lives of four Portuguese women, their entanglements, their failures, their griefs and their joys, are sketched and in places plumbed for their depths in a narrative that alternates between past and present, between Portugal and Canada. In the end I found the thread that binds the lives a little hard to trace from time to time, and perhaps if I had been able to give the book more devoted attention instead of the "a little at a time" approach I took to it the narrative would have effected me more. As it was I did not find myself drawn in as much to the lives of the characters as I had hoped, and while I appreciated the marginalization of men in the story as a device, I didn't feel as moved as other readers have. As ever, is that about me or about the book? I suppose you can read it for yourself and make a judgment.

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about four generations of women; two in Portugal and two in Canada. the author covers the lives and relationships of these women back to the the early 20th century. The book didn't grab me. The style was confusing because it was written in snippets at various time periods with different characters. The book had a geneaology chart at the beginning of the book which I appreciated because I kept getting confused about who was whom. The stories had potential but the novel was much too short to do justice to any of the characters and their storiies.

[Talie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple yet touching story of three generations of women. Some lovely family scenes. Also some disturbing scenes.

Their infidelity seem to be meant to show their independence. This is what keeps me from rating the story higher. There were just too many lies and infidelity.

There seems to be a typo in the dates. Family tree shows a birth in '37 but then a scene in '36 where that person should be 6. Also from paragraph to the next, the author jumps back and forth between now and a generation or two ago. It just to tiresome all the back and forth to me. Maybe the editing is to blame?

[Jo-Al Meilleur · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book. I started and stopped 5 times before I decided to just get it over with. It was a quick read, just a day to read it. I never felt connected to any character and the story jumped around a lot. It was hard to follow and I finish the book wondering what the point of it was.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The women tell the story of their life in Portugal and Canada with clarity and compassion. Ultimately four generations travel the distance in stories, memories, dreams and speculation. Life does not seem very different for these women on one continent or the other, because they have their friendships with each other.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished this a few days ago and already forget it because it wasn't very good. I didn't even mark it down in my personal record book, so that says enough in itself. It takes place in Portugal and then in Montreal, following the females in a family.They are very headstrong women, but not ones I could identify with!

[Erika Nerdypants · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of two sisters, their lovers, their children and grandchildren told in varying time periods and locations. Portuguese folklore is mixed in, and the writing is exquisite, honest and beautiful. Very nice first novel, poetic and cutting to the bone, immensly readable.