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April
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You were right, everything did eventually come together and make sense in the end. Which I have to admit is an amazing ending to the book, finally being able close the novel and realize how Transito Soto, Amanda, Esteban Garcia, Esteban Trueba, and everyone else's stories intertwined and connected. Not to mention finally figuring out that it was Alba who was writing the story helped me make more sense of things. I love that though the novel shows such corruption of the country mentioned, the mass media, army, police, politicians, and even Albas friends that their is the feeling of happiness and hope at the end of the novel. I'm a happy end lover, and the addition of Rojas, Ana Diaz, and all the singing of the women of the concentration camp made it seem like a happy ending, "I told her she had run an enormous risk rescuing me, and she smiled. It was then I understood that the days of colonel Garcia and all those like him are numbered, because they have not been able to destroy the spirit of these women," (pg 429)and "I spent the night with my eyes wide open, wrapped in the closeness of so many women, who took turns watching over me and never left me alone. They helped me when I began to suffer from bad memories..." However I guess it really wasn't very happy, considering everyones death.
ReplyDeleteThe dramatic irony of the novel really added an interesting twist. Watching Alba learn and discover how all the pieces of the puzzle formed together, how she was connected to these people from the past and present.
ReplyDeleteIt was also interesting as a reader to find out the missing links to this family tree of issues and plots. I was thoroughly pleased with the ending, but I found myself disappointed when I realized that I was done reading the book. That is how I truly know a book is good.
I agree Amy - with books I really love I usually go through a mourning period.
ReplyDeleteTwo excellent quotes kaitlyn.
I really liked the ending to the book and how every loose end seemed to tie together. It was interesting to find out how she was rescued and that it was Miguel's idea to use Transito Soto to help find Alba. It talked about how Alba was sent to a concentration camp for women and at first before continuing reading I pictured this camp to be like one from the Holocaust, but after reading further it was sort of the exact opposite. Alba describes it like heaven, which it probably was compared to everything else. I also like how Alba learns through her journey a lot about her family and how they were before she knew them.
ReplyDeleteI really loved the ending. Everything just structurally started fitting together. It made a whole lot more sense after I figured out Alba was the one writing the story with the help of Esteban, which explains why he was narrator for parts of the book. Also, Alba was going off of Clara's notebook while writing and using it as inspiration, so I think thats possibly why the story wasn't always in a constant chronological order, because of the fact that Clara didn't organize her notebook that way. To me, the ending is somewhat bittersweet when you find out Alba's having a baby girl. Even though she is pregnant with her first baby, she is unsure of the father and is still waiting for Miguel's return.
ReplyDeleteThe ending was awesome. I personally thought that that was the emotional point in the book. It was the point where everything you weren't sure about fit together to show you a very clear picture of everything. I also found it very intrigueing how, in the end, all the characters got intertwined and you realized just how small of a world it truly was.
ReplyDeleteAll I can truly say is wow. It was kind of irritating that we had to wait til the epilogue to find out who was the narrator but it was a good book all the same. After the last sentence I still turned the page hoping for more, though I knew there wouldn't be. Personally I loved this book. The only question I really have is who is the father of Alba's child? Like any other great novel there is always one question unanswered that will let you decide what you think should be the answer. The father of Alba's child is definitely a question and it is up to you to create your own ending.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I figured out awhile back that it was Alba who was telling the story along with Esteban Trueba. (p.21) "My granddaughter once asked me how I managed to live alone for so long far removed from civilization." Then once Alba was born and I figured out that Trueba wasn't going to have any more grandchildren, I began to assume that Alba was the second narrator.
ReplyDeleteThe ending to the book wasn't what I had expected, but then again I really don't know what I was expecting. The women of the concentration camp really impressed me with how they could all go through so much torture and still stand together with hope for survival. They never gave up, and the was really impressive to me.
I thought Esteban's end was really well done. His character had hit the end of his development as he went from the ranch owner who would rape the different women to the grandfather who helped free his granddaughter from captivity.
ReplyDeleteEven though he only showed up in this chapter I thought that Rojas was an enjoyable character since he helped Alba and kept her from sinking completely into despair and letting herself die.
I knew Transitto would be crucial in the ending due to her numerous appearances and the fact that she was always there to assist Truba.
I enjoyed the fact that the story (almost literally) came full circle in the end.
A book always seems to get a little better when all the confusing parts are put together at the end. Many questions that come up throughout the story like, Who is narrating this thing?, are answered and to find out that everything connects together, as much of the class said, makes the book even better. For me, finding out that the characters and points of the story were all connected in that way made reading this book much more understandable and enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteLet me rephrase the end of the book for us all. “Alba’s life went to pieces, her lover is off fighting, she just got out of a prison camp where she was repeatedly beaten and raped, and she is possibly carrying her insane, revenge seeking uncle’s baby, but hey, life is looking up”. The idea that someone could so quickly bounce back from such a vast amount of horribleness is shocking. I know for a fact that I personally would need time to mourn and readjust to my new way of living. I get that she is happy to be alive and she’s thankful towards Esteban, but not even magic would help heal wounds like that so quickly. I’m also shocked that Esteban would let her stay after she was kidnapped and taken prisoner in the middle of the night. There are obviously no guarantees from the government (aka the Military) that she is safe from their clutches, but he still is content with them waiting around for Miguel to return. That is a difficult concept to grasp, however I overall loved the book. ~Haley
ReplyDeleteI really liked the end of the book. I liked how it tied everything together and it made me happy to see Alba and her grandpa living together enjoying his last bits of life. I loved how Alba got to spend time with the woman and her family when she was dropped off by the poilice. I also liked that Esteban worked with Miguel to find Alba. The one thing that makes me really sad besides the fact that Alba's life had pretty much turned to ruins is that out of everyone that we read about in this book died.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy that this book is unlike many others. Most books don't tell the story of how they were written as well as the story itself. It is not told by some third party or some omniscient overseer. It is told by people who simply want to put the pieces together.
ReplyDeleteOn p.432 Alba says that Clara wrote, "memory is fragile and the space of a single life is brief, passing so quickly that we never get a chance to see the consequences of our acts." So Clara would be happy to know that miraculously her journals survived the years (with a little magical help) and live on so that others are able to bear witness to her life, the lives of those around her, the connections, the consequences, and the past, present, and future all in one.
This book had a lot of rough points and things that I don't approve of but I have to admit I liked the ending. As some others mentioned I find it highly admirable of how strong the women in the concentration camps were. They were threatened by some solders and their response was let's see you come in here and makes us kind of comment.
ReplyDelete(p.427) "Make us if you can bastards! Let's see you dare!"
That was really impressive in my opinion. I would have been too scared of the soldiers by that point to even think of saying that.
I was impressed with Trueba, who throughout the story I started to dislike more and more, redeemed himself in my eyes as he threw away his pride and begged Transito Soto to help him find Alba.