While getting ready for my trip to Uruguay, I wanted to explore the literature and see what I could buy in the UK and what I had to buy when I was there. Carolina de Robertis was one of the first authors of contemporary literature that appeared, and this novel was available on Amazon. I’m so glad that I not only bought it but that I finished it in Montevideo.
Reading about certain parts of the city made visiting them come to life. But that’s not why I bought this book; it was the storyline that drew me to it. This novel does not disappoint. I think that many people should read it and know about it. Mainstream authors such as Isabel Allende (my favorite) are very talented and well-known and thus her novels are easy to find anywhere. But Carolina de Robertis, although very different, paints a very vivid image of Uruguay, mostly during the dictatorship and recently when the country slowly became a democracy again. This novel is beautiful: it tells the story of five women, cantoras, (those who sing) who are repressed by the dictatorship and society as lesbians in hiding. And while yes, there are some moments that do divulge their sexual history and adventures, this book is so much more than that. It depicts the pain, repression, and horrors of the dictatorship. The novel starts at the beginning of this treacherous time, when the five women decide to escape Montevideo and stay for a week in Colonio, a desolate beach where they can finally be themselves, without any restrictions. Over time we see how they grow together as a family and the love they share. We also see the heartbreak and the darkness. But towards the end of the novel, we see more and more light and hope for not only the restoration of democracy but a more open-minded Uruguay.
This was one of the better contemporary Latin American novels I’ve read this year, and the first Uruguayan one. This book made me buy more literature from this beautiful country. And hopefully after reading this novel, you will too!
Rating:
Comments