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Dede said:
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Haven't finished this, so this is an interim review.
The book is an exploration of life of the sort Allende does so well. We see some familiar themes, the beloved grandparents, the alienated child, Chile, and the richness of life lived closer to the eHaven't finished this, so this is an interim review.
The book is an exploration of life of the sort Allende does so well. We see some familiar themes, the beloved grandparents, the alienated child, Chile, and the richness of life lived closer to the edge. Growth and increase in wisdom.
The premise of this is that Maya, a teenager from Berkeley, is running from a life of drugs and excess, pursued by police and crime figures. I'm half way through, and don't yet know why, or the circumstances of this.
She is sent to an island in an archipelago off Chile. She arrives with nothing to live with a friend of her grandmother's.
The first half of the book consists of development of the characters and environment of the Island, interleaved with Maya's reminiscence. She grew up effectively abandoned by her parents, but with the absolute love of her grandparents, her Nini (her grandmother, a refugee from Chile after the death of Salvadore Allende) and her Popo (her step-grandfather, a black astronomer and professor). Her grandparents are deeply in love, and extend that love unreservedly to Maya... until when she's 16, her grandfather dies. Her grandmother goes into deep depression, and the lack of her Popo's income, means they move out of the wonderful big house, to a flat above the garage.
With no supervision, and having lost the support of those who loved her, her pain at the death of her grandfather turns to rebellion, exacerbated by the hormonal riot of adolescence. With no supervision, she goes of the rails, involving herself in drugs and other self-destructive revenge on an unfair world.
The book weaves the narratives, of Maya's history, (obviously building to disaster) and the healing she is doing in the small island village, where she appreciates all the people, and begins to teach at the local primary school. Where it will go, I'm not sure, but I'm enjoying this a great deal, It may be a five-star, but I won't give it that until I've finished....more
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