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Loading... Swift as Desire (2001)by Laura Esquivel
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. 8401328810 Lluvia is caring for her father, a former telegraph operator who is now struggling with ill health, and wonders what happened to make her parents' marriage fall apart. Flashbacks show how her parents moved from a passionate love to a cold separation, with many factors like class, money, work, alcohol, etc. all leading to the end of their marriage. Probably like many others, my first introduction to Esquivel's work was Like Water for Chocolate and I was intrigued by the prospect another magical realism title from her. However, despite the promise of magical realism introduced at the beginning of this book, that fizzled out pretty quickly and it became a story about a marriage lacking good communication and falling apart. It was a good character study but not what I was expecting. While generally I do like a story that is more character driven than plot driven, it seemed that Lluvia's father was the nominal 'good guy' and I felt like he wasn't necessarily such a great guy. It's set in the past so there's a modicum of sense to how he's presented, but there was just a bit too much of machismo elements like 'my wife shouldn't work' that I didn't care for. So it was hard for me to really become super invested in his story. That being said, Esquivel's writing style continues to remain beautiful and evocative. The audiobook narrator here also did a lovely job. A moving tale about Jubilo, a man with a gift for hearing and for communication who works as a telegraph operator and how he loses the ability to communicate with the wife he loves. As he is ill and dying his gift for seeing in to people's hearts becomes apparent in his daughter. A vivid story with lively characters that tells how important communication is. Swift as Desire focuses on Lluvia, a middle aged mother desperately trying to replay her entire life in order to understand her parents’ mutual anger for one another. Júbilo, her father, was born with an unmatched ability to communicate and understand through feeling rather than words, but is now confined to a bed and unable to speak due to Parkinson’s. Lluvia’s mother Lucha was a privileged beauty who gave up everything in order to marry Júbilo, but has now become cold and calculating. The story finds Lluvia desperate to understand her parents’ past and reconcile them before her father’s imminent death. The story skips around in time, leaving the reader on edge throughout the entire book. The characters develop smoothly, and leave a deep impression. Nothing is as it seems with the family, which makes an unforgettable read. If readers are looking for another Like Water for Chocolate, they won’t find it here. Instead, they will find a brutally honest look into the closed doors of a marital relationship and a couple falling apart. It should be noted that the characters are both loveable and hateable- sometimes simultaneously! If you can get past their (sometimes) annoying exteriors, some good can be found in all. A tribute to her telegraph operator father, Esquivel's novel about Jubilo, gifted with the ability to hear more than just the words that people say, and his wife and daughter, this doesn't compare to her famous Like Water for Chocolate. Jubilo lies blind, incapacitated by severe Parkinson's Disease and dying. His daughter Lluvia, in whose home he is, brings his friends in to try and entertain her father and in so doing, uncovers the reason why her two very passionate parents haven't been speaking to each other since before her birth. Jubilo and Lucha led a turbulent life with each other, complicated by the fact that Jubilo's second sense about people failed him at crucial times with his wife. The story of Jubilo's life, especially after meeting Lucha, is alternated with his present and his daughter's careful caretaking. Uncovering the mystery that drove her parents apart and helping them to repair their hearts before Jubilo dies is part of what drives Lluvia as she bustles around her father's bedside. Unfortunately the writing here is choppy and lackluster and it takes a real effort for the reader to continue along with the storyline. The mystery itself isn't alluded to until quite a ways into the story and still isn't compelling enough to make the pages turn quickly. Lucha as a character is a rotten, whiny, spoiled brat and there's little to no explanation as to why she would be so appealing to Jubilo and to other men around her. Jubilo as a character is gifted with his almost magical powers (more a heightened sensitivity) and yet Esquivel doesn't choose to show him using this intuition much at all and refers to it most only when it fails him, which makes his character feel more allegorical than real. There are plot lines that seem as if they should be major themes but they peter out for lack of life. All in all, this was a disappointment. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesGallimard, Folio (5565)
A magical, sensuous new love story from the author of the international bestsellerLike Water for Chocolate. Instead of entering the world crying like other babies, Jublio was born with a smile on his face. He had a gift for hearing what was in people's hearts, for listening to sand dunes sind and insects whisper. Even as a young boy, acting as an interpreter between his warring Mayan grandmother and Spanish-speaking mother, he would translate words of spite into words of respect, so that their mutual hatred turned to love. When he grew up, he put his gift to good use in his job as a humble telegraph operator. But now the telegraph lies abandoned, obsolete as a form of communication in the electronic age, and Don Jublio is on his deathbed, mute and estranged from his beloved wife, Lucha, who refuses to speak to him. What tragic event has come between two such sensuous, loving people to cause their seemingly irreparable rift? What mystery lies behind the death of the son no one ever mentions? Can their daughter bring reconciliation to her parents before it is too late, by acting as an interpreter between them in Morse code, just as Don Jublio used to do for other people? Swift as Desireis Laura Esquivel's loving tribute to her father, who worked his own lifelong magic as a telegraph operator. In this enchanting, bittersweet story, touched with graphic earthiness and wit, she shows us how keeping secrets will always lead to unhappiness, and how communication is the key to love. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)863.64Literature Spanish and Portuguese Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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