Leopard at the Door
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15
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Average rating4
"Set in Kenya against the fading backdrop of the British Empire, a story of self-discovery, betrayal, and an impossible love. After six years in England, Rachel has returned to Kenya and the farm where she spent her childhood, but the beloved home she'd longed for is much changed. Her father's new companion--a strange, intolerant woman--has taken over the household. The political climate in the country grows more unsettled by the day and is approaching the boiling point. And looming over them all is the threat of the Mau Mau, a secret society intent on uniting the native Kenyans and overthrowing the whites. As Rachel struggles to find her place in her home and her country, she initiates a covert relationship, one that will demand from her a gross act of betrayal. One man knows her secret, and he has made it clear how she can buy his silence. But she knows something of her own, something she has never told anyone. And her knowledge brings her power"--
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Honestly, this book started a bit slow for me and at moments I had to push forward into finishing it, but now I finished, I noticed it was mostly because it was more dense than I expected. In the end, I can gladly say that it was worth it.
Honestamente, este libro empezó un poco lento para mí y, en momentos, tuve que esforzarme por terminarlo, pero ahora que terminé, me di cuenta de que en su mayoría fue porque fue más denso de lo que esperaba. Al final, felizmente puedo decir que valió la pena.
This book is about the transition of British 16-year-old Rachel from her childhood-veiled memories of Africa into the real world struggles that start to surround her when the African independence movement stirs up and locals start getting recruited to rise up against the British settlement. The story starts when Rachel gets back to her childhood home from her education years in England to which she was sent when she was a little girl and her mother recently died. This all develops against the backdrop of a beautiful African landscape perfectly described by the author (not that I've ever been there, but that's how good she does her job); she makes you be able to smell the humidity and dust in the air, and see the clear blue skies above and the abundant lilac jacaranda petals covering the dirt below.
Este libro es sobre la transición de Rachel, una joven británica de 16 años, desde sus memorias de Africa veladas por su infancia hacia los problemas del mundo real que comienzan a envolverla cuando el movimiento de independencia Africana empieza a tomar fuerza y los locales comienzan a ser recrutados para levantarse en contra del asentamiento británico. La historia inicia cuando Rachel vuelve al hogar de su infancia de sus años de estudio en Inglaterra después de haber sido enviada allí cuando era una niña pequeña y su madre había fallecido recientemente. Todo esto se desenvuelve contra el fondo de un hermoso paisaje Africano perfectamente descrito por la autora (no que yo haya estado ahí alguna vez, pero así de bien es como hace su trabajo); hace que seas capaz de oler la humedad y el polvo en el aire, y de ver claro cielo azul y los pétalos lilas de las jacarandas cubriendo el suelo.
The tale, however, is full of rich and well-defined characters that are very easy to despite or root for, and a crude set of events that gradually develop into a barrier that prevents Rachel from reconnecting with her beloved father and African family while clinging onto relationships and memories that no longer are what they were when she left several years ago.
El relato, sin embargo, está lleno de personajes copiosos y bien definidos que son muy fáciles de desagradar o de esperar lo mejor para ellos, y de una cruda serie de eventos que gradualmente se desarrollan en una barrera que evita que Rachel reconecte con su amado padre y su familia Africana mientras se aferra a relaciones y memorias que ya no son lo que eran cuando se fue varios años atrás.
What I liked the most about this book is that you can feel the main character's hope, longing and impotence with each situation she faces; your point of view transforming along with her intense desire to return to her childhood ways, the realization that old ghosts are very present in her family's current life, and that new threats are starting to creep in to separate her from her loved ones more than ever, even with her not being hundreds of miles away.
Lo que más me gustó de este libro es que puedes sentir la esperanza, anhelo e impotencia del personaje principal con cada situación que enfrenta; tu punto de vista transformándose junto con su deseo intenso de volver a sus costumbres infantiles, la comprensión de que viejos fantasmas están bastante presentes en la vida actual de su familia, y que nuevas amenazas comienzan a inflitrarse para separarla de sus seres queridos una vez más, a pesar de que ya no se encuentra a cientos de kilómetros de distancia.
In the end, there were some slow/very dense parts that, though, help build up the political background and understand the whys of how the plot develops, but concoct a riveting story of childhood yearning, buried secrets and the transition of a country into a new, independent setting.
Al final, hubo algunas partes lentas/muy densas que, sin embargo, ayudan a construir el trasfondo político y entender los porqué de cómo se desarrolla la trama, pero confeccionan una historia fascinante de añoranza infantil, secretos enterrados y la transición de un país hacia un entorno nuevo e independiente.
