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lola425's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed but did not love. I think Goldman did capture exactly what was so luminous about his wife, though. It was a lovely tribute.
weetziebot's review against another edition
4.0
After finishing this book I want to do a few things:
1. read The Ordinary Seaman
2. Go to Mexico
3. live a writer's life
1. read The Ordinary Seaman
2. Go to Mexico
3. live a writer's life
joaniemaloney's review
4.0
Hold her tight, if you have her; hold her tight, I thought, that's my advice to all the living. Breathe her in, put your nose in her hair, breathe her in deeply. Say her name. It will always be her name. Not even death can steal it. Same alive as dead, always Aura Estrada.
This memoir, part memoir, part love letter to a very dear wife, is at times painful to read. Francisco Goldman writes with the purpose to remember, to never forget, who Aura was, and the loss he's endured is felt on every page, every little detail heartbreakingly rendered, at times even bordering on obsessive. Tidbits of Aura's own writing and her diary entries are included as well. While I was reading this, I had the constant impulse to flip to the back flap to see the wedding picture of Aura and Francisco, as to further solidify the love they had for one another, a love that Francisco clearly feels still.
Aura is very much alive among these pages - a young woman with writing ambitions that were on the verge of coming true - despite being cheated of this life by a swimming accident during a vacation in 2005. The author takes his time narrating her life; sometimes the passages shift seamlessly into his own before he's met Aura. Through the characters in her life: Juanita, Rodrigo, Hector, Katia, Fabis...we learn of Aura's hopes, dreams, fears, insecurities, and even bits and pieces of her that Francisco has not yet been able to decipher.
It's very personal, so much at times I feel as if I shouldn't be reading about it all, but this book is a testament to how much Aura Estrada has affected the author's life. It truly is a labour of love, and the ultimate dedication to her memory. She won't ever be forgotten.
This memoir, part memoir, part love letter to a very dear wife, is at times painful to read. Francisco Goldman writes with the purpose to remember, to never forget, who Aura was, and the loss he's endured is felt on every page, every little detail heartbreakingly rendered, at times even bordering on obsessive. Tidbits of Aura's own writing and her diary entries are included as well. While I was reading this, I had the constant impulse to flip to the back flap to see the wedding picture of Aura and Francisco, as to further solidify the love they had for one another, a love that Francisco clearly feels still.
Aura is very much alive among these pages - a young woman with writing ambitions that were on the verge of coming true - despite being cheated of this life by a swimming accident during a vacation in 2005. The author takes his time narrating her life; sometimes the passages shift seamlessly into his own before he's met Aura. Through the characters in her life: Juanita, Rodrigo, Hector, Katia, Fabis...we learn of Aura's hopes, dreams, fears, insecurities, and even bits and pieces of her that Francisco has not yet been able to decipher.
It's very personal, so much at times I feel as if I shouldn't be reading about it all, but this book is a testament to how much Aura Estrada has affected the author's life. It truly is a labour of love, and the ultimate dedication to her memory. She won't ever be forgotten.
josie8's review against another edition
3.0
I had mixed feelings about this one and ended up not finishing it, as I was craving lighter fun fare for the holiday. It was well written, as one would expect from a frequent New Yorker contributor, and the author thoroughly convinced me that he valued and appreciated all the intelligent quirkiness and love of his wife. I was not as entranced by her, so after reading through about 200 pages I skipped through to the end to find out about the accident that took her life and called it a day.
marianne2001's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jraley_writes's review against another edition
2.0
I had hope for this book. The beginning wasn't so bad and I appreciated the structure of his stories and chapters...yet I thought it would pick up and it never did! I wasn't expecting some huge drama considering it's an entire book about grief, life, and death but we don't officially find out what happens until there are only 25 pages left?! I also didn't really connect with any characters but I could (somewhat) understand Frank's personal tug of war. I enjoyed how he wrote but was just bored and had to struggle to finish after about half way through.
melloves2read's review against another edition
4.0
I would have given this a 4.5 if possible. Through his descriptions of his wife Aura and the stories he tells you can feel how much the author loved her. You wish you had known her. His grief is painful to read yet you want to find out more about Aura and their life together.
pepper1133's review against another edition
1.0
"Life is too short to waste finishing a crappy book." So said my senior year English teacher, Ms. Getz. I admit that I am guilty of sticking with a book far, far longer than I should in the hopes that it will somehow miraculously turn itself around. Rarely is that the case, however. I realized I had to give up the ghost of this book after reading another Goodreads reviewer's post on the book, saying that he had basically slogged through the last half of the book, just waiting for Aura to die. I was in the same boat. So I found the New Yorker story "The Wave," which Goldman had written as a very shortened version of the book, got the conclusion I needed as to the details of Aura's death, and finally closed the covers of the book itself.
I'm not giving anything away in telling you that Aura dies; the whole point of the book is that this is the "novelized recollection" of Goldman's mourning over the death of his wife. Her death itself is shrouded somewhat in misery and we only get the bare bones of details throughout most of it, although we are given to wonder exactly what happened because we know Aura's family feels he murdered her.
The book jumps around a great deal, and it's hard to keep the chronology straight. Also, and god I feel bad saying this about a dead woman, but after awhile, I really started to dislike her. And then there's the significant "ick" factor of their age difference, as well the fact that it becomes very clear that both before and after Aura, he had/has a significant fetishization of young Mexican women. It just seemed like exploitation that this successful, older white male writer continued to enter into sexual relationships with emerging, young Mexican female writers/artists. Over and over and over. The postcolonial issues are rampant here.
If Goldman's story of Aura interests you, I highly suggest you just read "The Wave" instead.
I'm not giving anything away in telling you that Aura dies; the whole point of the book is that this is the "novelized recollection" of Goldman's mourning over the death of his wife. Her death itself is shrouded somewhat in misery and we only get the bare bones of details throughout most of it, although we are given to wonder exactly what happened because we know Aura's family feels he murdered her.
The book jumps around a great deal, and it's hard to keep the chronology straight. Also, and god I feel bad saying this about a dead woman, but after awhile, I really started to dislike her. And then there's the significant "ick" factor of their age difference, as well the fact that it becomes very clear that both before and after Aura, he had/has a significant fetishization of young Mexican women. It just seemed like exploitation that this successful, older white male writer continued to enter into sexual relationships with emerging, young Mexican female writers/artists. Over and over and over. The postcolonial issues are rampant here.
If Goldman's story of Aura interests you, I highly suggest you just read "The Wave" instead.
ehersheyiv's review against another edition
4.0
I want to accuse this book of not rising above being a ridiculously sentimental love note to/about a dead wife, and it doesn't, but it doesn't try to. In that definition, it is a success, it is beautiful and it is worth reading. It's sad without being dark. I have to admit it's too depressing for me.
suzze's review against another edition
3.0
Francisco Goldman's "novel" will stay with me for a long time. Such beautiful language, such heart-felt emotions. As I was reading it, I wasn't sure how much I liked it, as it seemed too "high-brow" for me, with two brilliant writers, fluent in several languages, living in two countries, dropping names of professors and authors that I have never heard of. But the crux of the book was Francisco's relationship with his wife, Aura, and a celebration of her life, even as he grieves her tragic death. Haunting.