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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Fácil de leer , corto, directo , muy interesante , crudo , sincero y gracioso.
emotional
medium-paced
I listened to the audiobook of the Swedish version. It was a capturing story, that tells of the childhood of Emma , from the age of 4 to 19. Emma wrote up her story in a number of letters to a friend, and with no intention at first to publish them. It’s amazing how many details she remembers from when she was very little, even though she wonders why she cannot think of the name of some of the small villages they passed when travelling. For my part, I don’t think I would be able to name any of the places where we went when I was that age! It is fascinating to hear about life and her situation at the time in Bogotá, how they travelled through the country on several occasions and the way that people travelled in those days (early 20s). Eventually she and her sister end up in a convent where they spend the next 15 years. I can’t let go of Emma even after finishing the book, I would love to know how she adapted to life outside, what happened to her sister etc. Recommend!
This short little book is truly a gem. Until I picked up this book I had no idea who Emma Reyes was. She was a known Colombian artist/painter (she was friends with Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera). This memoir translated by the amazing Daniel Alarcón is a collection of 23 letters written by Emma to Colombian writer, Germán Arciniegas about the first 19 years of her life.
Emma did not have an easy life, but her writing and story pulled me in immediately. I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in a day. There’s a lot more to this story and book, but you’ll need to find out on your own.
Emma did not have an easy life, but her writing and story pulled me in immediately. I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in a day. There’s a lot more to this story and book, but you’ll need to find out on your own.
Una historia bastante cruda.
Emma es una mujer completamente de admirar, en sus memorias se encuentra mucho dolor, soledad e ignorancia.
El libro tiene un ritmo muy bueno, me lo leí en un día, no podía dejar de leer, me sentía Gustavo el receptor de las cartas de la autora.
Sí quedé con unas dudas, con respecto a su hermana y qué pasó con ella misma después de ese final.
Este es lo tipo de libro que cierro, veo todo al rededor y me hace sentir agradecida con el universo, además me hace ser conciente del privilegio de tener a mí familia, una educación y las oportunidades.
Emma es una mujer completamente de admirar, en sus memorias se encuentra mucho dolor, soledad e ignorancia.
El libro tiene un ritmo muy bueno, me lo leí en un día, no podía dejar de leer, me sentía Gustavo el receptor de las cartas de la autora.
Sí quedé con unas dudas, con respecto a su hermana y qué pasó con ella misma después de ese final.
Este es lo tipo de libro que cierro, veo todo al rededor y me hace sentir agradecida con el universo, además me hace ser conciente del privilegio de tener a mí familia, una educación y las oportunidades.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
這本書有一種近乎粗糙的、童稚般的真誠。或許是這種真誠讓人覺得，她的童年，悲慘是充滿生命力的彩色——若從一開始並不認識苦難，那生命中所有的不幸就不會變得不幸，是否就能隨心所欲為之命名？因此我非常喜歡「塔拉嚕啦的冒險」這篇，她寫了一個充滿色彩，非常離奇，並且超現實的故事。
The Book of Emma Reyes is a revelation. Godmother to Latin American writers and artists in Paris, Emma Reyes was illiterate until her late teens, escaped from grinding poverty and the convent in Columbia, to Buenos Aires and then Paris, to re-invent herself as painter. The memoir, written as a series of letters to Colombian historian and critic Germán Arciniegas, won praise from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. As translated by Daniel Alarcón, the style is artfully simple and wholly faithful to the world. No literary flourishes, no imaginative metaphors. Just a sustaining belief that the material itself holds its own interest.
This was a memoir written in letters by Emma Reyes. She had a very bizarre, incredibly impoverished and astonishingly abusive upbringing. Her mother was someone Emma and her sister referred to as Mrs. Maria. After years of abuse that included horrific violence that included being locked in closets, rooms, etc for the entire day, sometimes days, Mrs. Maria abandoned them and the girls were taken to a convent.
The majority, in fact most, of this memoir is stories from the convent. This was a "good" read, if I can phrase it that, but it wasn't a gripping one - there was a great deal of the everyday storytelling of the common everyday happenings in the convent so it wasn't the most fascinating story once Emma arrives at the convent? For certain, her days there weren't all wonderful either. But, I don't know - it probably doesn't sound right to say - but it was a good read, but nothing exceptional for me. Emma Reyes did overcome and came of age in exceptionally bizarre and terrible conditions - but this memoir does not cover her adult years and the moving forward to her adult life as a successful artist.
Sorry for the ramble.
I started this when it was relevant for #WomeninTranslation month and finished it this weekend. Thank you to Viking/Penguin US for sending the hardcover of The Book of Emma Reyes.
The majority, in fact most, of this memoir is stories from the convent. This was a "good" read, if I can phrase it that, but it wasn't a gripping one - there was a great deal of the everyday storytelling of the common everyday happenings in the convent so it wasn't the most fascinating story once Emma arrives at the convent? For certain, her days there weren't all wonderful either. But, I don't know - it probably doesn't sound right to say - but it was a good read, but nothing exceptional for me. Emma Reyes did overcome and came of age in exceptionally bizarre and terrible conditions - but this memoir does not cover her adult years and the moving forward to her adult life as a successful artist.
Sorry for the ramble.
I started this when it was relevant for #WomeninTranslation month and finished it this weekend. Thank you to Viking/Penguin US for sending the hardcover of The Book of Emma Reyes.