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Bezig met laden... The City of Palaces: A Noveldoor Michael Nava
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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. I’m a huge fan of the Henry Rios mysteries, and when I saw that the same author had an upcoming historical novel set in early 20thC Mexico, I knew I wanted to read it. Despite my eagerness, though, I started and set aside the book at least twice before my third, successful attempt. I’m not sure why it took me so long and so many tries, because the book is extremely accessible, the setting is terrific, and the characters are engrossing. The first third of the book is more or less a traditional romantic story grounded in the politics and society of early 20thC Mexico. It introduces Miguel Sarmiento, a handsome doctor with a tortured past and Alicia Gavilan, the (physically and emotionally) scarred daughter of an aristocratic family. They fall in love, somewhat to their surprise, and the end of the first third closes with their marriage. Nava does a wonderful job of making the reader feel the context, and I loved reading about a society which is influenced by European and US society and politics, but which is also entirely its own world. The second third of the book opens about a decade later. We are introduced to Miguel and Alicia’s beautiful, artistic son, José, and we read the unfolding political developments through all three of their perspectives (as well as a few others on occasion). We’re never really in doubt that Miguel and Alicia will be on the side of political and economic reform, but we also know that they are in a precarious position because of their professional and personal ties to those in power. The story features a couple of important characters who happen to be homosexual Early in the book we meet Miguel’s cousin, Jorge Luis, who has to flee Mexico to avoid imprisonment (and probably worse) when he is found at a party with a group of gay men that includes the son of Porfirio Diaz. And there are passages that make it clear that José is attracted to other boys and men. In interviews about the book, the author has said that he based the character of José on the Mexican (closeted) actor Ramon Novarro, and readers who are familiar with Novarro will see echoes of his family’s name and history in this book. But it is by no means a biographical retelling. The prose style is deliberate, slightly formal, and straightforward. It occasionally lapses into telling more than showing, but I think that is an occupational hazard of historical novels, especially when the history cannot be assumed to be known to the book’s audience. All the characters are thoughtfully depicted and nuanced; there are no stock figures here that I could discern. Highly recommended. Nava is working on the second volume, but there's no set timetable for its completion and release.
Prijzen
In the years before the Mexican Revolution, Mexico is ruled by a tiny elite that apes European culture, grows rich from foreign investment, and prizes racial purity. The vast majority of Mexicans, who are native or of mixed native and Spanish blood, are politically powerless and slowly starving to death. Presiding over this corrupt system is Don Porfirio Díaz, the ruthless and inscrutable president of the Republic. Against this backdrop, The City of Palaces opens in a Mexico City jail with the meeting of Miguel Sarmiento and Alicia Gavilán. Miguel is a principled young doctor, only recently returned from Europe but wracked by guilt for a crime he committed as a medical student ten years earlier. Alicia is the spinster daughter of an aristocratic family. Disfigured by smallpox, she has devoted herself to working with the city's destitute. This unlikely pair--he a scientist and atheist and she a committed Christian--will marry. Through their eyes and the eyes of their young son, José, readers follow the collapse of the old order and its bloody aftermath. The City of Palaces is a sweeping novel of interwoven lives: Miguel and Alicia; José, a boy as beautiful and lonely as a child in a fairy ta≤ the idealistic Francisco Madero, who overthrows Díaz but is nevertheless destroyed by the tyrant's political system; and Miguel's cousin Luis, shunned as a "sodomite." A glittering mosaic of the colonial past and the wealth of the modern age, The City of Palaces is a story of faith and reason, cathedrals and hovels, barefoot street vendors and frock-coated businessmen, grand opera and silent film, presidents and peasants, the living and the dead. Winner, International Latino Book Award for Latino Fiction, Latino Literacy Now Second place, International Latino Book Award for Historical Fiction, Latino Literacy Now Finalist, Gay Fiction, Lambda Literary Awards Honorable Mention in Drama, Latino Books into Movies Award, International Latino Book Awards Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians Outstanding Book, selected by the Public Library Reviewers Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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The central characters, Miguel Sarmiento and Alicia Gavilán, are both committed to doing good in the world and each has their own tragedy underlying that motivation, but aside from those commonalities, they have little in common. He's the son of a political rebel, who was once respoected, but is now considered insane; she's the daughter of one of Mexico's oldest aristocratic families. He's a scientific rationalist and atheist; she's a devout Catholic. He accomplishes much good as a doctor volunteering in areas of the city where the poorest live, but builds few relationships with the people he serves; she has more friends, and more genuine friends, among the poor than she does among her own class.
Nava does wonders pulling together the sweep of history, the different world views and philosophies embraced by his central characters, and the relationship between those characters. I'm generally not one for "big" novels because they too easily become episodic or didactic. Nava avoids those pitfalls and presents a narrative that provokes thought and engagement.
This is a do-not-miss title for any reader of fiction. Its complexities and insights will reward on many levels.
I received a free electronic ARC of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus for review purposes. The opinions are my own. ( )