Reviews

Faguas, Nicaragua, 1970s. After completing her studies in Europe, Lavinia, a young woman from the Nicaraguan bourgeoisie, begins her career as an architect in a male-dominated environment. It was then that she met Felipe, also an architect but above all involved in the revolutionary movement against the Somoza dictatorship. Lavinia witness the social and political violence that the regime is inflicting on the Nicaraguan people, and become involved in the resistance.
In this novel, we follow two voices through Lavinia's story. One is Lavinia, of course, a middle-class child brought up by her aunt in an environment of freedom and rebellion, who finds herself at the heart of the popular struggle against the dictatorial regime in power. On the other, Itzá, an inhabitant of these lands before the arrival of the European settlers, who is also fighting against a barbaric, immoral and brutal enemy. The two young women experience the upheavals in Lavinia's life at the same pace, one because she is the main protagonist, the other because she experiences them through the spectre of what she has already lived. They are two strong, independent women, despite their attachment to their respective men. They are two women who are fighting against the sexist prejudices of their times, who want to break away from the image of a woman who is dependent on men, who needs them in all circumstances, who needs a protector because she is too weak (or too much of a woman) to defend herself on her own. For both of them, this struggle against a violent society is also an individual one. Each on her own, they fight against violent and bloodthirsty armies. But they unite in the historically longer and more enduring struggle that is the war against sexism and misogyny.
The writing is very poetic, especially on Itzá's side, and I really enjoyed reading this book. It's engaging and powerful, the two stories intertwine beautifully and the whole thing is amazing. I didn't know the author at all before reading this book and it made me want to read more of her work because I loved both the style and the story.

toroyaguila's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Me hubiese gustado leer/escuchar esta novela hace quince años. Acabo de escucharla y estoy conmovida. Belli es tremenda escritora y esta es una historia sobre una de tantas tiranías políticas que sigue viviendo América Latina y el Caribe, pero desde la mirada de Lavinia. Una mirad al inicio tímida, pero, sin que se dé cuenta, también afianzada en el deseo de libertad.
Maravillosa.

vickyjmarlow's review against another edition

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Bored me.

joanaad46's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

socama's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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