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Loading... Mision olvido (Spanish Edition) (edition 2013)by María Dueñas (Author)
Work InformationThe Heart Has Its Reasons by María Dueñas
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. An interesting story of the early days of European settlement in California encased in a story of love, self-discovery and research. ( ) When her husband of twenty years abandons her for a woman only a few years older than their son, Spanish linguistics professor, Blanca Perera is desperate to get away and accepts a temporary fellowship position at a Californian university. Blanca’s task is to sort through the private and professional papers of the late Andrea Fontana, a fellow Spaniard, tragically killed in a car accident decades years previously. While Blanca initially cares little for the work, she finds herself increasingly fascinated by the life of the enigmatic professor, and his living protege, Daniel Carter. The Heart Has its Reasons is a character driven novel exploring the themes of grief, loss, recovery and starting anew. Unfortunately I thought Blanca was a fairly bland character, passive and introverted, which is uncomfortable when the story is told largely from a first person narrative. Daniel Carter was perhaps the more interesting character, and I did enjoy reading about his time in mid century Spain. The story does contain a hint of intrigue involving Daniel Carter’s motives, academic rivalry and a ‘missing’ Mission, and Blanca’s task plays into these threads. As I know little about Spain, or its political or social history, I did find some of the information interesting, particularly regarding the Spanish Revolution and the influence of Spanish culture in America. Despite some lovely writing I really struggled with The Heart Has it’s Reasons. The tone was overly formal at times, possibly a fault of the translation. I also found the pace to be quite slow and was tempted to skim more than once. Just barely an okay read for me. I won this book free through goodreads and this is my honest opinion. I personally did not enjoy this book like i thought i would. Parts of it read off weird, and I believe it is translated. It is also seemed kinda slow paced and the plot had parts where it felt like it was on a completely different path then the rest of the book. It has a small usage of words and phrases and overall didn't have a lot of in depth interest. The characters were alright, but not very well described. 3.5 When Blanche's husband of twenty dive years leaves her for another woman, she is blindsided. A linguistic professor in Spain with two grown sons she applies for and gets a fellowship in California sorting the papers of an obscure professor from Spain, who never returned to, his native country. There she meets Daniel, another professor who has secrets and emotional pain of his own. I really enjoyed Daniel's story and loved reading about his time in Spain, the food and the culture. The papers that Blanche is sorting lead her to the professors love and investigation of California's twenty one missions. Trying to find information about a possible further mission not commonly known, Blanche and Daniel connect. This mission may have an important impact on a current issue. I loved the descriptions of the mission they visit, "But the aesthetics were there, the soul and structure, with its humble wooden cross, rough on the top part. A metal plaque summarized its history, intimate and poignant in its sobriety." A woman finding her way forward by looking backward into the life of another from the past. She comes to understand that not everything is rational and sometimes "The heart has its reasons." Arc from Netgalley. no reviews | add a review
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"A talented college professor in Madrid, Blanca Perea seems to have it all. But her world is suddenly shattered when her husband of twenty years leaves her for another woman. Questioning the life she once had and whether she truly knows herself, Blanca resolves to change her surroundings. She accepts what looks like a boring research grant in California involving an exiled Spanish writer who died decades ago. Anxious to leave her own troubled life behind, she is gradually drawn into his haunted world, with its poignant loves and unfulfilled ambitions"--Amazon.com. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)863.7Literature Spanish and Portuguese Spanish fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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