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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a long story, my friends, as you’ll have worked out for yourselves. It predates me and you; it predates even my mama or yours. It’s a story born of a centuries-old tiredness and questions that presume too much. Or have any of you ever been asked if you feel tenderly toward your superiors? If you love your boss, your supervisor, the staff manager? I cleaned their house, dusted their furniture, made sure there was a hot plate of food waiting for them in the evenings. Those things have nothing to do with love.
Oh my god. This is very simply written but rich in characterization and political unrest as the backdrop to a "domestic thriller." The narration as first person confession-style Gesell chamber monologue was compelling. The tension and class dynamics were reminiscent for me of the film Parasite. Devastating grief and dissociation and resignation. Hands. Names. Words. Truths. Home. Loss. Place. Nature. Work. Wounds. This one is sticking with me a long time and I am definitely reading more of this author. Will re-read this one in Spanish if I get the chance.
There are two types of people in this world: those who have a name, and those who don't. And only those without names can disappear.
In reading other reviews I learned this was a stage production in Chile. Seeing Estela's story played out on stage or film would be even more impactful.
https://www.teatroamil.cl/catalogo-obras/limpia_teatro_nacional/
Have you ever noticed how hands get passed down from father to son, from mother to daughter? Look at yours if you don’t believe me. Look at your nails, your cuticles, the shape of your knuckles. It might not be obvious at first. Young hands never look like those of the mother. But as the years pass, the resemblance becomes undeniable. The fingers expand. The tips grow bent. Age spots appear identical to the ones that were once on the grandmother’s hands, and then on the mother’s adored hands. By the time I was fifteen my hands were as big as my mama’s. If I placed my palm against hers, our nails came to the same length. Her fingers thick and leathery, gnarled from all the work they’d seen, veins bulging under her skin, the backs all lumpy, and my own soft hands, still unblemished. I looked at my hands, then at her gloves, and I thought: the mother dies and leaves her hands in the hands of the daughter.
tardé en escribir una reseña de este libro porque fue tan sofocante leerlo. me sentía atrapada. sólo recuerdo que cuando terminé de leerlo miré al cielo y me sentí agradecida de terminarlo. creo que fue demasiado bueno. es de esos libros que te hacen sentir todo. que genial. es que realmente es como una montaña rusa y yo soy adicta a ellas. ojala que pueda releerlo y que tenga la energía emocional para aguantar todo con las manos arriba.
pd.
tuve la oportunidad ver la obra de teatro (sí, porque también hicieron una obra de teatro en xile) y esto realmente aumentó al 5.
pd.
tuve la oportunidad ver la obra de teatro (sí, porque también hicieron una obra de teatro en xile) y esto realmente aumentó al 5.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fast paced, an interesting story of how this woman became completely endrenched in her life as a servant and sacrificed herself and life outside of the motony of housemaid.
A really interesting portrayal of class divide.
The only thing was that the pull of the murder was lacking and I found it wasn't strong enough a mystery to carry the rest of the book.
A really interesting portrayal of class divide.
The only thing was that the pull of the murder was lacking and I found it wasn't strong enough a mystery to carry the rest of the book.
