Reviews

Primera memoria by Ana María Matute

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kristine_9's review against another edition

4.0

A little odd and quite sad. I think she captured the voice of a 14 year old girl incredibly well. I feel like I'll need to read it again at some point.

However, I'm not convinced the translation was as good as it could have been because sometimes the words flowed and other times a sentence would feel like an unpleasant shove. But who knows, maybe that's how it was written.

I also read another review on here that mentioned the slur the translator decided to use to translate "el chino" into English and I'm glad I found out that was the translator's choice because it was uncomfortable to read the whole way through. Saying that, her descriptions of the character it refers to were also racist and would now be unacceptable. I believe she was demonstrating the racism, and anti-semitism, in Spanish society at the time but this is always a tough one with older books.

_dunno_'s review against another edition

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4.0

(3.5*) Primera memoria e cel mai probabil un bildungsroman, dacă e să îl încadrăm undeva, și e povestea maturizării adolescentei Matia, izolată (fizic și afectiv) pe o insulă (Mallorca) în plin război civil spaniol. E scris din perspectiva adultului, așa cum își amintește evenimentele la ani distanță, cu inevitabilele reflecții provocate de vîrstă și experiență. Maturizarea (oarecum forțată a) fetei mi-a amintit de un alt (excelent) roman spaniol al epocii, Nada / Carmen Laforet (1945), iar izolarea, necesitatea de a fi de o parte sau alta și chiar cruzimea, de împăratul muștelor / W. Golding (1954).

Natura joacă un rol esențial și e descrisă cu super-măiestrie de Matute—soarele, în special, e aproape un inamic în sine—iar războiul civil, care nu se dă efectiv pe insulă, unde ajung doar ecouri ale lui, e dublat de conflictele locale, care scot la iveală cruzimea și antisemitismul.

Cartea a apărut și în română în 1968, în colecția Meridiane, tradusă de către Elena Bălan-Osiac.

katevrst's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

harleyburch's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

canadiantiquarian's review against another edition

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2.0

Unpleasant reading, amplified by Matute’s ability to write impactfully ignorant child racism and a used copy with truly erratic and terrible university class notes.

anneke_b's review against another edition

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2.0

Wonderfully written prose.

But so slow. Sooooo slow.

I wanted to love it, I desperately did. I noticed that I don't have many books by Spanish authors, and I was surprised about that, but this wasn't for me. I am sure that quite some people will like it, though!