Leticia
Eu gosto tanto dela, e gostei tanto dos outros livros. Mas esse foi difícil. Acho muito desafiador encontrar a voz certa para narradores estranhos, e não tenho certeza de que isso foi alcançado aqui. A imagem extremamente poética do título só fez de fato sentido no final, e acho que ele é autoexplicativo o suficiente para que todos imaginem que não é um livro cheio de alegria e que eu possa dizer que o fim tão triste foi o auge do livro, o que é muito, muito comovente, redimiu boa parte da dificuldade de leitura, mas ainda assim não chegou pra mim às expectativas (mãe da m como todo mundo sabe).
After having saved it for a very long time, I've finally reached the end of this one. Cried rivers. Not a spoiler, it's not because it was a particularly sad ending (there were sad parts, obviously, but that's life). It's just that it was moving, and delicate, and somehow more sentimental, I think, than the other ones. It was the first time that I've read one of her books and wouldn't know it was hers without the cover - and it was not bad. Maybe she's grown into other things, maybe I have. I just know it was a beautiful journey. Thanks again, Mrs Moriarty!
In my defense (and I think it needs to be duly acknowledged), I've read until the very end, even after the freaking revelation about the cats. And I have cats. I love cats. I absolutely hated what was there. But I kept going, because people had raved on about the book.
Honestly? shouldn't have bothered. The cats were just a preview of how bad it could become for no reason at all. Psychotic or not, the character is uninteresting, weak and weird, and not worth my time.
I almost feel the cats were put there to add a layer of depth to her and make us question if there was more.
There wasn't.
Acho lindo o talento de escrever vozes que não refletem a sua: é um desprendimento e uma capacidade de olhar o outro que só a arte traduz. Esmê, Dorinha e Jaime são retratos independentes e bonitos de pessoas que ficam em pé nas páginas, e só isso já vale cada palavra.
Outra coisa que me orgulha é achar que temos uma geração de escritoras contemporâneas tão linda: Jarid Arraes, Fabiane Guimarães, Carla Madeira, Natalia Timmerman, Mariana Salomão Carrara, Lorena Portela. Viva as mulheres brasileiras que estão fazendo literatura. Que sejam muitas e tenham vida longa.
Um clássico real, com o herói dramático, a heroína com frequentes desmaios e frases misteriosas, poucos toques físicos e a punição por ser emocionalmente raso devidamente estabelecida. Não é meu favorito, embora seja quase um sacrilégio fazer críticas a Machado. Tenho certeza que há camadas que não enxerguei e sutilezas ignoradas que colaboraram para minha opinião - ainda assim.
The stars are mostly because I think it's such a difficult topic to write about. Either the people doing it are expected to have all the answers or pass judgment or maybe both, I guess. I was curious, and confess I got frustrated as the book went by, due to the lack of answers and generally the confusion expressed by the author, but that's exactly what I think should happen. She's just telling her story, and it's not her fault she doesn't have all the answers - it's a memoir, after all, not a manual. Her story is about her husband, who does like the idea of an open marriage, and her own feelings about it, which begin very dubious and evolve, or not, throughout the book.
I've always felt like the concept of monogamy is more social than anything else, and still think that after reading it. That was the only contribution the book made to my own opinion, but as I said, maybe it was enough - to know that after all, everyone should be able to form their own opinions and live accordingly instead of feeling there's this big book of rules bossing us around.
