Doña Inés contra el olvido

by Ana Teresa Torres

Matriarch of a wealthy planter family in the eighteenth-century village of Caracas, Dona Ines fights for control of a coastal-province plantation that her late husband has bequeathed to his illegitimate son by a black slave. She dies in 1780 but continues her exposition, searching to prove her rights while observing the political upheavals, natural disasters, bloodshed, and changing racial, social, and cultural strictures visited on her own and other Venezuelan families in the next two hundred years. She watches, finally with resignation, as Caracas becomes an unrecognizable modern metropolis and her descendants acquiesce to compromise over the disputed property.Ultimately a journal of the tragic clash between classes, of the interface between humanity and geography, Dona Ines vs. Oblivion depicts the maturation of Venezuela more vividly than any work of nonfiction.

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

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ana Teresa Torres García nació en Caracas el seis de julio de 1945 en la clínica Córdoba (situada entonces en la actual avenida México). Hija única de Miguel Torres Cárdenas (1910-1980) y Felicitas García Elorrio, nacida en Madrid en 1916, y nacionalizada venezolana al contraer matrimonio. Durante sus primeros años vivió junto a sus padres en la urbanización Campo Alegre, en la casa de su abuela paterna, Carmen Teresa Martinez Madriz, figura muy significativa en su vida, especialmente después del fallecimiento de su madre ocurrido en 1953.
Su padre y otros miembros de la familia se trasladan a vivir a Madrid; estudia el bachillerato en un colegio de monjas (conocido como “las irlandesas” porque la orden provenía de Irlanda), y viaja a Caracas en los períodos de vacaciones. Inicia estudios de Filosofía y Letras en la Universidad de Madrid que abandona para regresar definitivamente a Venezuela en 1964. Sus intentos de escritura, realizados en la adolescencia y primera juventud, pasan a un segundo plano cuando se interesa por estudiar psicología y psicoanálisis y desarrolla una intensa actividad profesional y docente en esas áreas.
Se casa en 1975 con Gastón Carvallo López de Ceballos, quien después de una larga militancia política de izquierda, trabaja como investigador de temas históricos y sociales en el Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Universidad Central de Venezuela. Serán padres de Gastón Miguel, nacido en 1975, economista y programador de computación, e Isabel, nacida en 1977, psicóloga especialista en recursos humanos. Gastón y Ana Teresa se separan conyugalmente en los años ochenta y mantienen una entrañable amistad hasta la muerte de Gastón en 1993.
El premio de cuentos del diario El Nacional obtenido en 1984 marca un viraje que la inclina nuevamente hacia la escritura, y durante unos años oscila entre sus dos vocaciones. Finalmente abandona la práctica psicoanalítica en 1993 para dedicarse por entero a la escritura. A partir de 1999, y sobre todo hasta 2004, alterna la actividad literaria con la escritura de prensa y otras acciones de resistencia de la sociedad civil (particularmente en la asociación Gente de la cultura y Pen Venezuela) frente al régimen instaurado en Venezuela en 1998.
Vive en Caracas con sus dos hijos hasta que las circunstancias del país llevan a éstos a emigrar a Canadá en 2008, y allí nacen sus nietos, Julio Antonio, Ana Isabel y Alejandro Ignacio, hijos de Isabel y Antonio González Fuentes. En razón de esto, alterna períodos entre Toronto y Caracas.

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!
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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...