20 Poemas de Amor y Una Canción Desesperada by Pablo Neruda

20 poemas de amor y una canción desesperada by Pablo Neruda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this in Spanish, and I generally enjoy Neruda much more in Spanish. The problem here is that good poetry in Spanish is very difficult for me, and I might be missing something significant here. Ideally, I'd read this in both Spanish in English, so I'm off to find an English copy.


Current favorite line, Poema 14:
"Quiero hacer contigo
lo que la primavera hace con los cerezos."

As an aside, he really loves the word "crepúsculo" which mean twilight in English. Crepúsculo crepúsculo crepúsculo.

Here's an online copy of the poems in Spanish if anyone is curious: https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/20-poemas-de-amor.htm.

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The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The novel starts out with a One Hundred Years of Solitude-vibe, with the history of a Chilean family through four generations. You're lulled into a weird tropical stupor where one of the main character's many rapes seem tolerable. (My Goodreads "sexual assault" shelf overflowth.) Little by little, the novel takes a darker political tone, until you're sitting in a pit of Pinochet-inspired torture. Magical realism to horror book basically.

Isabel Allende's father was a cousin of Salvador Allende, who was democratically elected president of Chile from 1970-1973. Because Salvador Allende was a Marxist/socialist the US supported Augusto Pinochet coup d'état in September 1973. Pinochet then proved to be a totalitarian dictator who violented oppressed his opposition. So that's why this novel goes the way it goes. If you want to read more about Isabel Allende's life versus House of Spirits: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/apr/28/isabelallende.fiction

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Vista del Amanecer en el Tropico by Guillermo Cabrera Infante

Vista del Amanecer en el Tropico by Guillermo Cabrera Infante
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very short stories about the history of Cuba. One story is so short that it's a sentence- almost a one-liner joke. Except it's not a joke, it's a horrifying truth. It goes" "The general asked the time and an aide-de-camp approached quickly and whispered: "Whatever time you want, Mr. President." [Translation my own as I have a Spanish copy and might suffer from some small Spanglish issues as I'm out of practice.]

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Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez

Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the Spanish version of this, Memoria de mis putas tristes. When I read this, I hadn't read Lolita yet. It's probably inspired by Lolita but it's also the exact opposite of Lolita. I thought it was a sad and beautiful story about mortality and love.

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