May with inspiring mothers
In May, we celebrate Mother's Day. So, in honor of the women who choose to have children and exercise this role in the best way they can, I created the project Strong mothers of literaturewhose aim is to is to show the main characters as mothers and their sometimes positive and sometimes not-so-positive realities. not so much. Let's get to them!
One Hundred years of solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
A classic of fantastic literature the world over, Gabriel García Marquéz's One Hundred Years of Solitude was the first read of May. In it, we are introduced to Úrsula - the backbone not only of the family, but of the entire plot - she is the central character and matriarch of this classic story that was a milestone for magical realism, first published in 1967. She, as the matriarch of her family, tirelessly seeks the best for her family, between mistakes and successes, having lived for more than 100 years, which shows that she has seen generations come and go. Here, we saw a loneliness that was very present in several characters, and also in Ursula.
To buy: One Hundred Years of Solitude (Below you will find different editions)
https://amzn.to/2VFluY1 (commemorative edition ON SUPER SALE!!!)
Dry Secas - Graciliano Ramos
This is the story of a family of northeastern migrants whose strength comes from the matriarch Sinha Vitória. The narrative focuses on the permanent flight of this family, together with the famous dog of Brazilian literature, Baleia, affected by the Northeastern drought and, consequently, the lack of a home. Set in the third person, with simple, harsh language, the story shows dry characters who are constantly searching for a little dignity. The difficult journey of the family's mother is dramatically exposed. She has to be the strength and the hope and try to spare her children from the great evils of this world.
To buy:
Dry Lives - Graciliano Ramos - https://amzn.to/2VY4OuK
80th anniversary edition - https://amzn.to/2HflS7e (ON PROMOTION!!!!)
To Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
In this book, many critics claim that the writer Virginia Woolf created the character Mrs. Ramsey as a representative of her own mother. She is a very strong and intense character. She is even melancholy and shows us how motherhood can make the woman that exists in that mother disappear. The story shows the loneliness of this character and a deep regret for a life so difficult to live. Told in stream of consciousness, this novel was published in 1927 and is considered a landmark of modernism. It tells the story of the Ramsay family and their visits to a beautiful island in Scotland (Isle of Skye) between 1910 and 1920.
To buy At the Lighthouse
We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
A first-person novel, told through letters written by Eva - the great mother of this family - to Franklin, who is apparently her ex-husband. After the difficult decision to have a child - since Eva didn't want any - the couple have to deal with the fact that their son, Kevin, is apparently a psychopath. And the signs of this appear even in childhood. Eva experiences the deepest, darkest and most desperate anxieties of motherhood. Her life as a contemporary woman is transformed after she becomes a mother and this was this character's greatest fear before her decision. Her way of looking at her own story makes her one of the most complex characters in literature today.
To buy We need to talk about Kevin
Did you like it? Every Sunday I comment on my experiences of reading these books (respectively) on Bela's Books channel. There's already One Hundred Years of Solitude, Vidas Secas and, on the 19th, I'll be uploading the incredible Ao Farol, by Virginia Woolf!
Responses