On Vida’s bookshelf: The Invisible Mountain
For the last few weeks, I’ve stayed up late at night to read the “The Invisible Mountain,” the debut novel by Carolina DeRobertis.
In the style of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” or Isabel Allende’s “The House of Spirits,” the novel follows one Uruguayan family over three generations. But though she uses a familiar story structure, DeRobertis’ story is completely original and enjoyable.
The book starts out with the story of Pajarita, a woman from the Uruguyan countryside, who marries Ignazio, an immigrant from Venice. The couple settles in Montevideo, and has four children, including Eva, the youngest and only daughter.
The second section of the book follows Eva, an avid poet who follows her dream of being a poet, and her loved one, to Buenos Aires. She marries an Argentine doctor, and they later have two children, including Salomé Ernestina, who is named for the nurse, Che Guevara, who assisted Eva during the birth. It is then fitting that in the third section of the novel, Salomé becomes an urban guerilla rebel.
I’ve simplified rich plot, but I hope that short description gives you a glimpse of the sweeping story and its diverse characters. And to be honest, the plot is only part of what makes this book so good. DeRobertis’ writing style is so vivid that when I wake up in the morning, places I read about the night before – from the city of Montevideo to a Montevideo jail cell – seem like genuine memories.
I highly recommend this book! It’s a great story about a Latin American family entangled in the history of their country, and a great story about familial bonds.
Image from Amazon.com
