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A review by okiecozyreader
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This is a beautifully told story spanning 3 generations and 4 time periods. Below I kind of summarized what happens to show how the story happens. It may spoil moments, which I don’t want to do for anyone who wants to go in blind.
It begins in Spain in 1492 (I had to look it up bc it alludes to King Fernando and Queen Isabel (doesn’t mention Spain until page 62). Benvenida and her family are forced out of Spain because they are Jewish and they flee to Turkey. She leaves a note in the wall and passes down a love for singing and a song that her mother taught her.
Part 2: Then we go to Turkey in 1923. Reina is forced to leave her home for an arranged marriage when caught under what her father considers inappropriate circumstances.
Part 3: 1961 in Cuba, her daughter Alegra enjoys teaching literacy but her father doesn’t love her working with Castro and the resistance sends her to Miami.
Part 4: Paloma in 2003 considers the life of her mother Alegra and her grandmother Reina and travels from Miami to Madrid to understand her past more fully.
—-
I feel like so much happens in this book that needs more information for the young reader. I wish there were maps that showed these locations with the times, or some way for young readers to understand more of what is going on in each time period. The authors note and Sources list are amazing and detailed, but I don’t know how many students have the skills to navigate that information. I do think it might be a better read with an adult who could help someone navigate what is happening. There are a couple really graphic scenes (of labor, etc) that are intense.
All of that to say, it’s such a beautifully written story and is just amazing. The author’s note about how it is tied to her own family… I just have no words. I could spend hours going down the rabbit hole for so many things in this book (I looked up several things as I went), but there were even more in Sources. The reader could spend hours with it all.
It truly does take us further back in history to see earlier persecution of Jewish people in Europe and how they have carried their heritage throughout time. I loved all the characters and their stories.
“Remember, hijica, always live the truth of who you are, not the falsehood that others may wish to force upon you.” Ch 13 / part 1
“That’s what freedom really is about—having a choice.” Ch 20 / part 2
“How many girls like me, through the ages, have sung these sad songs as they dreamed of freedom?” Ch 30 : part 2
“…your father didn’t want you to join the literacy campaign because he doesn’t like the rebels, and my father insisted I join because it looks good for him, since he supports the rebels. I don’t know which is better or worse. Do you?”
“I see what you mean. We want to make our own choices, but they want us to do what’s best for them. In the end, they’re not so different from each other.” Ch 37 / part 3
“Not only were my ancestors driven out of Spain, but my abuela had to leave Turkey, and my parents had to leave Cuba. So many seas were crossed. So much had to happen before I could be born here in this place.” Ch 51 / part 4
“It reminds me I’m connected to those who came before me through the power of the words we speak, the words we write, the words we sing, the words in which we tell our dreams.” Ch 61 / part 4
“Paloma’s story is meant to break the cycle of departures; her story is about return.” Author’s note
“I saw her running to the sea. And she didn’t look back. She sailed into an unknown world, singing the story that so many years later I heard and wrote down so it would be remembered.” Author’s Note
It begins in Spain in 1492 (I had to look it up bc it alludes to King Fernando and Queen Isabel (doesn’t mention Spain until page 62). Benvenida and her family are forced out of Spain because they are Jewish and they flee to Turkey. She leaves a note in the wall and passes down a love for singing and a song that her mother taught her.
Part 2: Then we go to Turkey in 1923. Reina is forced to leave her home for an arranged marriage when caught under what her father considers inappropriate circumstances.
Part 3: 1961 in Cuba, her daughter Alegra enjoys teaching literacy but her father doesn’t love her working with Castro and the resistance sends her to Miami.
Part 4: Paloma in 2003 considers the life of her mother Alegra and her grandmother Reina and travels from Miami to Madrid to understand her past more fully.
—-
I feel like so much happens in this book that needs more information for the young reader. I wish there were maps that showed these locations with the times, or some way for young readers to understand more of what is going on in each time period. The authors note and Sources list are amazing and detailed, but I don’t know how many students have the skills to navigate that information. I do think it might be a better read with an adult who could help someone navigate what is happening. There are a couple really graphic scenes (of labor, etc) that are intense.
All of that to say, it’s such a beautifully written story and is just amazing. The author’s note about how it is tied to her own family… I just have no words. I could spend hours going down the rabbit hole for so many things in this book (I looked up several things as I went), but there were even more in Sources. The reader could spend hours with it all.
It truly does take us further back in history to see earlier persecution of Jewish people in Europe and how they have carried their heritage throughout time. I loved all the characters and their stories.
“Remember, hijica, always live the truth of who you are, not the falsehood that others may wish to force upon you.” Ch 13 / part 1
“That’s what freedom really is about—having a choice.” Ch 20 / part 2
“How many girls like me, through the ages, have sung these sad songs as they dreamed of freedom?” Ch 30 : part 2
“…your father didn’t want you to join the literacy campaign because he doesn’t like the rebels, and my father insisted I join because it looks good for him, since he supports the rebels. I don’t know which is better or worse. Do you?”
“I see what you mean. We want to make our own choices, but they want us to do what’s best for them. In the end, they’re not so different from each other.” Ch 37 / part 3
“Not only were my ancestors driven out of Spain, but my abuela had to leave Turkey, and my parents had to leave Cuba. So many seas were crossed. So much had to happen before I could be born here in this place.” Ch 51 / part 4
“It reminds me I’m connected to those who came before me through the power of the words we speak, the words we write, the words we sing, the words in which we tell our dreams.” Ch 61 / part 4
“Paloma’s story is meant to break the cycle of departures; her story is about return.” Author’s note
“I saw her running to the sea. And she didn’t look back. She sailed into an unknown world, singing the story that so many years later I heard and wrote down so it would be remembered.” Author’s Note
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy