Our House in the Last World by Oscar HijuelosMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Covering basically the 1930s thru the '70s, this multi-generational Cuban-American family epic goes from the aristocratic Sorrea family in eastern Cuba to Mercedes, the second of three daughters, who sees the ghost of her father frequently and dreams. She marries Alejo Santinio who wants a more exciting life away from rural Cuba and decides to emigrate with Mercedes to the United States. tye have the boys Hector and older brother Horacio. This becomes Hector's tale who seems to have inherited his mother's phantasmagoric sensitivities. The changes in Cuba up to Castro and the United States over those decades is the backdrop. What I liked most about this novel is the flavor of the dream-like recollections, relying on wistful passages and little dialogue. This is a delicate balance for the author, as the story threatens to drift away, unmoored by the delicate prose and description. However, it proves a firm enough foundation to support a reincarnation recollection back to Columbus.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment