vivian_munich's review against another edition
4.0
Her Mother’s Mother’s Mother and Her Daughters chronicles twenty women’s lives spanning 500 years of history in Brazil. It was pretty fascinating how unique each woman was and how their life was shaped by the time they lived in. The writing is eloquent and lyrical.
Of course with only 10 to 20 pages devoted to one woman’s life, it was difficult to fully convey their personalities and thus I didn’t feel really connected to any of them. Also I’m fairly ignorant about Brazil’s history so all the significant historical events fell flat and didn’t trigger anything in me (entirely my own fault). I can imagine the stories would’ve carried a lot more weight for Brazilians.
Worth a read if you’re interested in historical family sagas and want to learn more about Brazil.
Of course with only 10 to 20 pages devoted to one woman’s life, it was difficult to fully convey their personalities and thus I didn’t feel really connected to any of them. Also I’m fairly ignorant about Brazil’s history so all the significant historical events fell flat and didn’t trigger anything in me (entirely my own fault). I can imagine the stories would’ve carried a lot more weight for Brazilians.
Worth a read if you’re interested in historical family sagas and want to learn more about Brazil.
samants's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
An enrapturing multigenerational tale showing the arbitrariness of fortune. I also appreciated the author's showing how skin color has nothing to do with how Brazilian each woman is (completely). As a woman from an embattled colonized country, I appreciated this story.
dreadpirate's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
The book felt slow paced at first, although that may have been more to due with my short attention span at the time I started reading.
By the end I felt entrapped in the lives of the mothers, and daughters of the story.
By the end I felt entrapped in the lives of the mothers, and daughters of the story.
lrnlbrt's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
joellie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
amyjo25's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
rigatonibologna's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
readingtheend's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.75
a fascinating look at Brazilian history through the lens of mothers and daughters. also a good reminder that I don't love multigenerational family sagas.
clairewords's review against another edition
5.0
Just brilliant.
What a perfect way to navigate through 500 years of history of a country, without ever getting bogged down in the detail, to follow the lives of daughters, whose patterns are affected if not dictated by the context of the era within which they've lived, from the daughter of a native tribeswoman, who leaves with a Portuguese shiphand, to the many generations living on the sugarcane plantations, to the daughters of wealthy business owners living off the profits of those ancestors, from the bitter to the sweet, the uncaring to the revolutionary, five centuries of women.
Each chapter follows one young woman and though some of their lives are short-lived, they at least give birth to one daughter, even if some don't live to raise them.
Their stories are grouped into five parts:
A Shortlived Romance - Inaia (1500-1514) and her daughter Tebereté (1514-1548)
Desolate Wilderness -six daughter descendants, the slave years (1531 -1693)
Improbable Splendour - five daughters, the commercial trading years, accumulating wealth (1683 - 1822)
Vicious Modernity - four daughters, revenge, jealousy, naivety, the elite upper classes (1816 - 1906)
A Promising Sign - three daughters, working class, equality, human rights, exile, freedom (1926 - present)
There are so many stories, it is difficult to retain them all and remember them, and for this it's necessary to slow-read this book to really take in the breadth of storytelling, which implicitly tells the greater story of a country's evolution, growth, pain and development. But what better way than to inhabit the lives of one family and follow them over the course of time, recalling the fates of each character and the essence of the life they lived, was enabled or disabled by the time they lived through.
I absolutely loved it, I read this because I seek out works by women in translation to read in August for #WITMonth and finding a book like this is such a joy, for it gives so much in its reading, great storytelling, a potted history of Brazil, a unique multiple women's perspective and an introduction to an award winning author, the writer of ten novels and this her first translated into English!
Likely to be one of my favourite reads of 2019. A real gem.
What a perfect way to navigate through 500 years of history of a country, without ever getting bogged down in the detail, to follow the lives of daughters, whose patterns are affected if not dictated by the context of the era within which they've lived, from the daughter of a native tribeswoman, who leaves with a Portuguese shiphand, to the many generations living on the sugarcane plantations, to the daughters of wealthy business owners living off the profits of those ancestors, from the bitter to the sweet, the uncaring to the revolutionary, five centuries of women.
Each chapter follows one young woman and though some of their lives are short-lived, they at least give birth to one daughter, even if some don't live to raise them.
Their stories are grouped into five parts:
A Shortlived Romance - Inaia (1500-1514) and her daughter Tebereté (1514-1548)
Desolate Wilderness -six daughter descendants, the slave years (1531 -1693)
Improbable Splendour - five daughters, the commercial trading years, accumulating wealth (1683 - 1822)
Vicious Modernity - four daughters, revenge, jealousy, naivety, the elite upper classes (1816 - 1906)
A Promising Sign - three daughters, working class, equality, human rights, exile, freedom (1926 - present)
There are so many stories, it is difficult to retain them all and remember them, and for this it's necessary to slow-read this book to really take in the breadth of storytelling, which implicitly tells the greater story of a country's evolution, growth, pain and development. But what better way than to inhabit the lives of one family and follow them over the course of time, recalling the fates of each character and the essence of the life they lived, was enabled or disabled by the time they lived through.
I absolutely loved it, I read this because I seek out works by women in translation to read in August for #WITMonth and finding a book like this is such a joy, for it gives so much in its reading, great storytelling, a potted history of Brazil, a unique multiple women's perspective and an introduction to an award winning author, the writer of ten novels and this her first translated into English!
Likely to be one of my favourite reads of 2019. A real gem.