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A review by laraamaee
The Island by Ana María Matute
5.0
"What kind of monster am I now, no longer a child, but definitely, definitely not a woman?"
In The Island (Primera Memoria), 14-year-old Matia is sent to live with her tyrannical grandmother in Mallorca after being expelled from convent school, since her mother is dead and her father is absent. Against the backdrop of a hot summer, her schemes with her cousin Borja, and the haunting presence of the Spanish Civil War, María Matute pens a dazzling coming-of-age story which really struck a chord with me—perhaps because of the beautiful, poetic prose which describes the island, the violence of the world, and the sentiments of a lost and confused teenager in enchanting ways; perhaps because I'm in my own transition phase to adulthood this summer. Nevertheless, this was a wonderful book; short (under 180 pages), but stunning. It is translated from Spanish by Laura Lonsdale, but it doesn't feel like it in the sense that the writing flows so well and is so impressive. I highly recommend it, especially since I had never heard of this author before.
My only criticism: this book was written in 1959, so I understand that things were different back then, but...the fact that the character Lauro is called a Chinese racial slur as a nickname throughout the whole novel is...??? Awful???
In The Island (Primera Memoria), 14-year-old Matia is sent to live with her tyrannical grandmother in Mallorca after being expelled from convent school, since her mother is dead and her father is absent. Against the backdrop of a hot summer, her schemes with her cousin Borja, and the haunting presence of the Spanish Civil War, María Matute pens a dazzling coming-of-age story which really struck a chord with me—perhaps because of the beautiful, poetic prose which describes the island, the violence of the world, and the sentiments of a lost and confused teenager in enchanting ways; perhaps because I'm in my own transition phase to adulthood this summer. Nevertheless, this was a wonderful book; short (under 180 pages), but stunning. It is translated from Spanish by Laura Lonsdale, but it doesn't feel like it in the sense that the writing flows so well and is so impressive. I highly recommend it, especially since I had never heard of this author before.
My only criticism: this book was written in 1959, so I understand that things were different back then, but...the fact that the character Lauro is called a Chinese racial slur as a nickname throughout the whole novel is...??? Awful???