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Bezig met laden... Cecilia Valdés (1882)door Cirilo Villaverde
Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Alegato antiesclavista, la obra logra describir el ambiente colonial cubano de principios del siglo XIX , las injusticias sociales y especialmente la ignominia de la esclavitud. Abolicionista y luego también independentista, Cirilo Villaverde construye una trama romántica en cuyo trasfondo está la denuncia social y la condena de la vida del esclavo en el ingenio, de las diferencias de oportunidades para la clase dominante blanca y la de los pobres, mestizos, libertos y esclavos. ( ) SPOILERS FOR MOVIE!!! Page 491 and she's still alive. Yes, I finished [Cecelia Valdez, or El Angel Hill] today. I'll refrain from critiquing the movie... or at least I'll try to. Now I know one more reason why the movie, Cecilia, is called the most controversial movie in Cuban history. No, not because it might offend Castro. It's because the over-the-top religious symbolism including the bit where Cecilia dresses up as the Virgin and throws herself off a bell tower is Humberto Solas' invention, not Cirilo Villaverde's. Except for the names of the characters, the movie doesn't follow the book at all. Imagine if you'd gone to see Lord of the Rings, and in the end Frodo became a 6 foot tall hunk and decides to go look for a blonde in the land of men... Yup. You got the idea. As for the book, it was set in 1830s Havana, and written in exile shortly after that time period. Imagine Flaubert crossed with Nicolai Gogol but gone Cuban with a sprinkle of Gone with the Wind on top, and you're getting there. The translation is a bit clunky, but since this is a hard-to-find classic, we'll forgive that. The charm of the novel isn't really its plot, two lovers who can't be together because unbeknownst to them they are brother and sister. Yes, it goes a bit melodramatic at the end. Neither of the characters are nice enough to weep buckets for their difficulties, and you'll want to shake several people who aren't be blunt enough to make the lovers see that they are little too close in kinship. Denial is powerful, even in 1830. The reason to read this book is its intricate detail of the lifestyle, conventions and race assumptions of the time. Once you've finished reading this book, you'll be able to mill sugar cane in your own backyard. You'll know proper etiquette for a white-only ball, an all-race ball, and a colored ball. Amazingly enough, this level of detail doesn't drive the reader mad. It may come close, but then you realize Villaverde actually had a point for that digression. Either it will be for humor, or it will be to introduce a person who becomes important later, or a situation that will be repeated but in a more significant manner. Everything is beautifully foreshadowed. But no, Cecilia does not throw herself off of the bell tower. You won't weep at the end of the book because Cecilia just went splat. You may, however, weep because you have to leave 1830s Cuba. A fascinating read! Set in the early 1800s in Cuba, this novel encompasses a marvelous melodrama and genuinely interesting, if depressing, history of social class and slavery of the period. The only negative is that the ending, after 490 pages of detail and delight wraps up in 1 page in a very unsatisfying manner. While Cirilo Villaverde's, "Cecilia Valdes or EL Angel Hill", is not written in the breathtaking prose some of my favorites are, it is an incredible novel depicting nineteenth century Cuba. It can be considered, and is, one of the "Greats". When I purchased this book, I found out that it is part of a small library of Latin American Literature published by the Oxford University Press (www.oup.com - Library of Latin America Editions). I highly recommend this Library to anyone interested in Latin American history, culture or literature. Outstanding! geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)
Cecilia Vald�s is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde's novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late 19th century. In this new English translation, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by the son of a Spanish slave trader, named Leonardo. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo's advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia after a while, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime. For the contemporary reader Helen Lane's masterful translation of Cecilia Vald�s opens a new window into the intricate problems of race relations in Cuba and the Caribbean. There are the elite social circles of European and New World Whites, the rich culture of the free people of color, the class to which Cecilia herself belonged, and then the slaves, divided among themselves between those who were born in Africa and those who were born in the New World, and those who worked on the sugar plantation and those who worked in the households of the rich people in Havana. Cecilia Vald�s thus presents a vast portrait of sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)863.5Literature Spanish and Portuguese Spanish fiction 19th century 1800–1900LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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