Perla (Vintage Contemporaries)

Perla is a fabulous story. I knew very little about Argentina when I started the book but through the poetic language of the book, I learned of the horrors that the unwanted people went through--horrors that led to their murders. This is a magical story but one that is easy to read and understand. A sad but hopeful book.

First let me say, Perla is a terrific story, with excellent use of magical realism, told in lyrical prose. Everyone should read it. That said, the beautiful writing is also the book's major flaw: it is overwritten to the point of having every page scream, "look how beautifully I can write...line after line, page after page." In the case of this writer's clear talent, a little would go a long way. Each page is so beautifully composed, often with single sentences that stretch for pages, that the writing pretension takes away from the powerful story because the writing demands you notice it, read it slowly. Often it takes away from the emotion rather than intensifies it. In moderation, this lyrical writing would be a good thing, but there is no moderation here. Still, I very much enjoyed the book, and being familiar with the subject of the Disappeared and with Buenos Aires, found it compelling in its storytelling. Only one other minor flaw: the ending is rather pat, with everything neatly tied up with a big, happy bow. If only life had such hopeful endings.

***Spoiler Warning***Argentina's dirty war is just another of the 20th century's holocausts. This time the criteria was political leanings, not race. As a species, we never seem to run out of criteria for discrimination and barbarism. It all seems to come down to, "you're somehow different from me, therefore you must be exterminated." We've done it to blacks, to aboriginals, to people of the "wrong" ideologies. We vow it must never happen again. And we do it again.I knew very little about this dark period of history, yet just after I read the book, I read a newspaper account of a woman whose father's remains had just been identified in Uruguay. He had apparently washed ashore -- one of the "disappeared" and through the continuing work of Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, his DNA was linked to his daughter who had been raised by a military family as their own daughter. Just like Perla's story, which author Carolina de Robertis says is fiction.Truth or fiction, it is a beautifully told terrible story. The supernatural aspects of it slowed me down for a bit, but I was soon swept up in the lyrical prose and ensnared by the horrible events of this dark time. It's a must read for the artistic telling of a story that must be heard.

I wanted to like this book because of the subject matter. Read maybe 100 pages but then lost interest and moved on to other books. It was a very strange story and interesting, just not compelling enough to hold my attention. I probably should have stuck with it, but have so many others in my Kindle that it is easy to be distracted if a story doesn't grab me.

Didn't realize that it had a science-fiction undertone to it. There was a certain coming-of-age element to it that I appreciated especially given the time frame in history for the country. However I found it just disconcerting and not looking forward to reading it so I had to force my way through it

I was mesmerized by her prose and there were some parts I was not sure if this was reality or insanity.A moving story that touched me personally as I had planned to go to Argentina as a volunteer in the 70’s but did not go which was a good decision after all.

A very thoughtful, highly readable bok. Grabs you from the first page. But you have to know what went on in Argentina to understand what she meant by "disappeared". Thousands of anyone thought to be "subversive" by the regime were thrown naked dead or alive from aircraft into the ocean from high altitude. Even if the body floated, it couldn"t be identified.

This is a rather strange book, but I admit that it grabbed me. It starts with the mysterious appearance of a very wet and naked man in her home. He is helpless and needy and she does try to help him. Over the period of a week things change and he helps her to solve a mystery in her life that has long bothered her. I don't want to tell more because that would ruin the mystery.I learned a lot about Argentina in reading this book because I felt the need to research the things De Robertis wrote about. She was telling true about the history of that troubled country. Very disturbing!Anyway, I urge you to read it. It is worth your time.