Pick-a-Shelf discussion

What latin-american books did you read? How did you find it? If you weren't a fan or have never read one before, are you converted to this side of lit?

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
***

It's hard to rate and review this book because I liked the idea of it more than the actual thing. It tells the story of Mrs Rochester from Jane eyre, growing up in Jamaica. I didn't get a strong feel of her character, but the place was vividly bright to life.

Used for Bookopoly
I nominate short stories

It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This story is overwhelming at times. How do you survive in a country with a revolution going on, one in which almost no one cares about any other person? Dark fear, hopeless days ... it is a difficult book to read, but worth it for a better understanding of the effects of the revolution in Venezuela.

I used it for Just Read It!
Nominate: Nordic

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
*****
I have no idea why I resisted picking up this book for so long. From the beginning, the book grabbed me and I loved every minute of living with these characters. This is epic family narrative with magical/spiritual elements. But the magic here never interferes with the story. It's just an accepted fact that some of the family members have premonitions about the future, or green hair, or can move objects telepathically.

This is the best magical realism I've ever read. I thought I didn't like the genre. Turns out, I just needed to find this book. I know very little about the history of Chile, but felt connected to the story anyway. The book never says that it's set in Chile--it just seems clear that it is. Reading about revolution and the edge of democracy feels very timely today even though this book is nearly 40 years old.

The two narrators for the audible audiobook do a great job bringing this story to life. I'd highly recommend listening to this one if you like audiobooks.

I used it for Just Read It! and for Bookopoly
Nominate: New York

Book: Like Water for Chocolate~ Laura Esquival ~ 01.06 ★★★



# Tags: 237

Review:
I wish I could say I liked this. I was generous with 3 stars. I can't decide if I didn't like the characters because the author didn't write them in a way to allow me to or if I really just didn't like them. I wanted to be sympathetic to their star-crossed situation but I don't think Pedro was deserving of Tita's love. And I think Tita should have stood firmer. There was a lot about the book that was OTT but I know that was intentional but because I couldn't like the characters, the OTT just made me roll my eyes. This is an international best-seller so I can't help but wonder what I'm missing (or what's missing in me) that I couldn't like it more. I am kind of interested in how it translates to the big screen... maybe I'll seek out the movie. Maybe.

Challenges: Just Read It
Nomination: male author(s)

Book: Super Extra Grande ~ Yoss ~ 01.06 ★★★




# Tags: 4

Review:
This was okay. It was a little humorous and the writing was mostly engaging. The plot was kind of all over, what there was of it. The ending got a little weird. I had trouble following it and understanding the purpose of the last scene. Over all it was kind of fun and it was a light-hearted allegory on ethnicity and diversity acceptance.

Challenges: Just Read It
Nomination: sisters

I read House of Broken Angels. It may be my favorite of Urrea's books so far. My review here

Challenges: Moving Mountains
Nomination : Time Travel

I read Daughter of Fortune. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gave it 4*.

It is the story of love, woman's struggle to be relevant in a man's world, the gold rush in California, and becoming. I have avoided this book (which I owned) for a long time because I was not a big fan of Isabel Allende's first novel. However, the characters in this one really spoke to me. Loved it!

I nominate California.

I used this for Just Read It and for the January monthly shelf.

I read Wide Sargasso Sea. It wasn't for me - I found it rambling and illogical, the characters were unsympathetic and the connection to Jane Eyre unnecessary. 2 stars, sorry.

Shelvings: 20
Challenges: Just Read It
Nomination: Golden Age

The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set in small town Mexico in the early 20th century. Combining magical realism and historical fiction in a family saga. This book started out incredibly well, I loved the characters and the story, definitely 5 stars. But it did lose me a little in the middle.

Used for Bookopoly and just read it
I nominate Japan

I read I Didn't Talk. It's translated from Portuguese and is about a professor in Brazil reaching retirement, who is reflecting on his past, including the time he spent as a political prisoner, and the mistaken belief amongst his friends and family that he "talked"under torture. It is quite dense and written in a stream-of-consciousness style. I probably read it too quickly and would have appreciated it more if I had taken it more slowly, with time to stop and think about it.

Shelvings: 3
Challenges: Just Read It
Nomination: Golden Age

I've read The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. ★★½

Having loved Our Man in Havana, I lately acquired quite a few books by Graham Greene, and my expectations were particularly high for this one, since it was highly recommended to me by some GR friends whose judgment I trust. Unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations, quite the contrary in fact. I have a strong feeling it might be just a case of good book, bad timing. Things have been pretty hectic here at the moment, so I guess what I really needed was a lighter read - which this most definitely isn't.

Still, I enjoyed Graham Greene's writing. But I didn't much care for the story, although I have to admit it should have been an interesting one, seen as I didn't even know there had been a persecution against Catholic priests in Mexico in the 1920's-1930's. The story is admittedly a powerful one, it just didn't resonate with me. I think I should revisit it some time in the future.

Shelf nomination: I'll throw another vote in for Europe.

I read Seek by Mia Sheridan on 1/17/20 and rated it 4 STARS.

I enjoyed the story, and liked the characters, the suspense and the romance. I read this for a challenge in another group and it just so happened to be set in Columbia. My full review is here.

This book used for: Just Read it! Prompt 1


Shelf nomination: coming-of-age

Next Year in Havana [22-jan-20] ★★★

This is about a family who loves Cuba and a next generation who goes back to Cuba. It's a lovely story, with a beautiful description of Cuba. I liked how it gave some insight in the histroy. I didn't like the insta-love romance both in the past and the present. Parts of the book are a bit repetitive and I didn't like the ending. Overall it was a nice read.

Used for: Bookopoly

Shelf nomination: Magic

This month I read The Alchemist. I give it 3 stars. I think this book can be read one of two ways, as just a story, or as a self help book. If you go into it like I did and just read it as a story, then it is enjoyable enough. Doesn't require much, an easy read. Just kind of a fun adventure. If you read it as a self help book, because it is based on the idea of finding your destiny, then I feel you will be very disappointed because it doesn't really guide you much there beyond "GO FORTH AND ACHIEVE!" lol. I would never have thought of it as a self help book but a lot of the reviews are from people who did consider it to be one. So my recommendation is to just read like an easy fantasy. My biggest dislike about the book was that it was repetitive about certain things. There are a couple of phrases that are repeated OVER AND OVER AGAIN. And it gets a smidge irritating by the end. Overall it was enjoyable while reading but nothing uber fantastic.

This book also fits into my Moving Mountains challenge and my Just Read It challenge.

I would like to nominate Humor as my shelf.

Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner, read 25 Jan 2020 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a debut novel and I thought it was quite good. It is set in the United Fruit Company's American enclave in the few years leading up to the Cuban Revolution. The author's mother grew up in that enclave, so I am assuming that some of the stories and atmosphere came from hearing her speak about it.

I used it for Just Read It!
Shelf Nomination: Europe

Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig ★★★ Read: 1/27/20

Interesting. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either. Most of the time, I just thought its age was showing. Published in the mid-1970s, this book has a lot (LOT) of outdated, harmful gay stereotypes in it.Gay = pedophilia, gay guy "seduces" straight guy, etc. But the worst part were the "footnotes" attempting to explain the "causes" of homosexuality according to Freud. Mother fixation = gay. Blech.... Once I realized the footnotes didn't add anything to the narrative and could safely be ignored, I enjoyed the book a lot better.

Shelved by: 50 people.

Used for: Just Read it! Prompt 1

Shelf nomination: Futuristic

I read Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
⭐⭐⭐

This book starts by telling you who died then gradually reveals the details; who did it, why, and how. It was an OK read, some good sections. Even though it was only just over 100 pages, there were parts that felt unnecessary. Not as good as his better known books.

Used for just read it prompt 1
Nominate family saga

I read The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende.



4.5 Stars

A beautiful and immersive collection of stories. None felt too much like another and each one enthralled me more than the next. Isabel Allende has earned a reputation for her talent and with good reason!

I nominate alternate history.

I ended reading three books by Argentine writers (useful for my Just Read It! challenge) that take place in Argentina but which haven't been added to the latin-america shelf (the last two still being too new and available only in Spanish). So- in the spirit of the shelf- I'll post the reviews here and nominate shelves, even though I'm not sure if they count as proper monthly shelf reads. XD

First, I read Patient (Soy paciente) ★★★ by Ana María Shua, a book which I liked without finding it amazing. It's about a person that's convinced to go to the hospital due to a mysterious weakness and, after a series of unbelievable decisions and events, ends lost in the bureaucracy. It's a subtle parody about bureaucracy and general egoism that gets too close to describing how many problems are actually solved in these parts.

Rating: 3 stars ~ Shelf nomination: Future

Then I read La hermana menor: Un retrato de Silvina Ocampo [The Younger Sister: A Picture of Silvina Ocampo] by Mariana Enríquez. ★★★★ Silvina Ocampo was an Argentine author known for her strange- often cruel- short stories. She's regarded as a great writer that wasn't more famous because she lived under the shadow of other writers: Her older sister, Victoria- a feminist and a woman before her time-, her husband Bioy Casares (The Invention of Morel, The Dream of Heroes, Asleep in the Sun), and her husband's best friend Jorge Luis Borges. In this biography, 25 years after her death, Enríquez tries to describe her life, her work and choices, while trying to unearth the truth under a few nasty rumors. It's a very interesting book which unfortunately didn't tell me anything I didn't already know about Ocampo from watching a few TV programs dedicated to her (and there are still many unanswered questions about her) but I think it succeeds in bringing all the information dispersed together in one volume for all those that never heard or read about the author before. Enríquez is an internationally popular author, so I'm sure the book will be translated to a few languages soon.

Rating: 4 stars ~ Shelf nomination: Mystery

Lastly, I finished Los libros y la calle [The Books and The Street] by Edgardo Cozarinsky. ★★★★ which reminded me a little of The Library at Night. The author takes us through his discovery of books, libraries and literature in Buenos Aires in the 50s and 60s, before he moved to Paris. He also describes how he met other authors, how he decided to start writing and to move back to Buenos Aires after decades of living in Europe. It's a short interesting book that goes to the point, leaving the reader wanting to know more. The book isn't available in other languages yet but it's a solid candidate for translation.

Rating: 4 stars ~ Shelf nomination: Supernatural

Well I failed at getting my book, Bel Canto even started!! Maybe next month will go better!

I read A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende. This historical fiction novel has just been published. Isabel Allende does not disappoint! This follows the story of two brothers and a woman (view spoiler)[who is wife to one and bears the child of the other (hide spoiler)]. They escape the horrors of the end of the Spanish Civil War by taking a ship the "Winnipeg" to Chile, where a new life -- and problems -- unfold for them.

I read it for: Just Read It!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Nominate: Mystery

Lahni wrote: "Well I failed at getting my book, Bel Canto even started!! Maybe next month will go better!"

Me too. I managed to read a lot of books, but nothing that fit the Latin-American genre category. ::shrug:: But it's a new month, so it's an opportunity to start fresh with optimistic hope!

Kristina Simon wrote: "Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig ★★★ Read: 1/27/20 Interesting. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either...

I remember being torn between the 3 and the 4 stars, because while the book wasn't bad (mostly a product of its times) and it was well written, I couldn't say I fully enjoyed reading it.

I understand it wasn't easy to publish either. The author- a gay rights activist writing in exile- while telling a romantic story, also meant to denounce all the outdated gay stereotypes he detected both in 1976 Argentina (the year of the coup d'état) and in the scientific community (thus the arid notes on homosexuality) and how easily people got sent to prison for sexual and ideological reasons... And the book isn't even that long!

I completed Love in the Time of Cholera a couple of days late. This is the story of a long love and story of aging. The way the story was told made it slightly impersonal, but the story also had a biographical/historical feel. I only found this book to be about 3 stars, which means I might not read it again, but I'm not disappointed that I read it.