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suzumemizuno's review against another edition
2.0
Me habían advertido que no estaba "al nivel" de El tiempo entre costuras, y aunque no me gusta juzgar las novelas en comparación con otras que vinieron antes o después a menos que formen parte de una saga, lo cierto es que el cambio es impactante. Dueñas ha pasado de centrarse en un personaje a contar la historia de varios, pero a falta de un punto de vista central fuerte y coherente, que debería ser Blanca, todo se vuelve blando y desligado. El corazón de la novela son dos hombres, pero sus historias están salpicadas a lo largo de una tercera persona insertada entre los capítulos de Blanca que es puro resumen y no tengo ni idea de dónde sale. Supongo que es lo que va averiguando Blanca, y que está teñido de sus interpretaciones (porque el nivel de omnisciencia es apabullante), pero si es el caso se pierde todo el proceso de investigación que debería volver interesante y deseable el descubrir más de estos hombres.
Por otro lado, los personajes de Dueñas siempre parecen estar leyendo un guion en el que deben contarnos todo lo que necesitamos para proceder, y al final las revelaciones llegan tan tarde y son tan melodramáticas para lo que es la historia que dejan un poco fría. Una estructura distinta, más personal, quizá habrían logrado que Misión Olvido fuera una historia fuerte y melancólica.
Pero María Dueñas escribe muy bien, así que tampoco se vuelve insoportable de leer.
Por otro lado, los personajes de Dueñas siempre parecen estar leyendo un guion en el que deben contarnos todo lo que necesitamos para proceder, y al final las revelaciones llegan tan tarde y son tan melodramáticas para lo que es la historia que dejan un poco fría. Una estructura distinta, más personal, quizá habrían logrado que Misión Olvido fuera una historia fuerte y melancólica.
Pero María Dueñas escribe muy bien, así que tampoco se vuelve insoportable de leer.
reikista's review against another edition
3.0
Blanca Perea se va a trabajar a California por unos meses, para escapar de su realidad en España, donde su matrimonio de un cuarto de siglo se ha terminado. Allá debe rescatar el legado de un profesor de filología español, pero termina rescatándose a sí misma y descubriendo misterio en una historia paralela que trata de los frailes españoles que construyeron misiones en la época colonial. Romance, misterio, e historia, en un ambiente universitario. Pero se demoró un ponerse emocionante la historia.
adelaparra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lauraemmaaa's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed this book more than I originally thought it would. It was different to my usual genre but was written in a way that made the historical component of the story easy to follow and some twists that kept the momentum going.
I enjoyed this book more than I originally thought it would. It was different to my usual genre but was written in a way that made the historical component of the story easy to follow and some twists that kept the momentum going.
sabine4242's review against another edition
3.0
Overall this story was pretty good, the characters engaging. However, after the rich world of "The Time in Between" it was somewhat of a let down for Duenas. It was somewhat predictable, despite being as interesting, and the various storylines were not always threaded together as well as they could be.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
2.0
When her husband of twenty years abandons her for a woman only a few years older than their son, Spanish linguistics professor, Blanca Perera is desperate to get away and accepts a temporary fellowship position at a Californian university. Blanca's task is to sort through the private and professional papers of the late Andrea Fontana, a fellow Spaniard, tragically killed in a car accident decades years previously. While Blanca initially cares little for the work, she finds herself increasingly fascinated by the life of the enigmatic professor, and his living protege, Daniel Carter.
The Heart Has its Reasons is a character driven novel exploring the themes of grief, loss, recovery and starting anew. Unfortunately I thought Blanca was a fairly bland character, passive and introverted, which is uncomfortable when the story is told largely from a first person narrative. Daniel Carter was perhaps the more interesting character, and I did enjoy reading about his time in mid century Spain.
The story does contain a hint of intrigue involving Daniel Carter's motives, academic rivalry and a 'missing' Mission, and Blanca's task plays into these threads.
As I know little about Spain, or its political or social history, I did find some of the information interesting, particularly regarding the Spanish Revolution and the influence of Spanish culture in America.
Despite some lovely writing however I really struggled with The Heart Has it's Reasons. The tone was overly formal at times, possibly a fault of the translation. I also found the pace to be quite slow and was tempted to skim more than once.
Just barely an okay read for me.
artinyourworld's review against another edition
4.0
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rdebner's review against another edition
4.0
Less historical than her last book, the author still excels at unraveling personal mysteries.