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Title: The Hacienda : A Memoir by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran ISBN: 0-316-81688-4 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 03 May, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.39 (23 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: My neighbour's memoir
Comment: I do live a very few hours away from where the action of this book takes place. Since I read it I have not checked the place out but found some people that actually corroborated part of the story. This is why I reluctantly give it 5 stars. In spite of a certain inconsistency through the book, a few misplaced left leanings comment, a hard to believe naivete, the books stands firm as a good representation of Venezuelan rural mores, and a heartfelt memoir. Now, I do not want this to mean that Lisa Saint Aubin de Teran is an accurate reporter. She tries her best and only God knows how difficult it is to understand Venezuelan society. However she is very successful at conveying the spirit that moves things there, for good or bad. She is at her best when she shows how in spite of every hardship that falls on her, the country slowly gets into her and she cannot help but love it. I can relate with that, she is not making it up. And last but not least, in light of recent political turmoil in Venezuela, I can recommend this book highly: it will explain why a phenomenon like Chaves came upon Venezuela better than any long political analysis you might find around. Although Ms Saint Aubin kept her patrician acquired Teran she was unto something when she describes the "absentee landlord" mores of Venezuelan old elite families. Her comments on them are rather damming. But the reader needs not to worry, this is still a very strong personal memoir, that can also serve as a political memento.
Rating: 3
Summary: a tense tale of abuse and resilience
Comment: This is a book which warrants reading twice. This is because the first time you find yourself so anxious to learn the outcome of its human drama that you don't thoughtfully absorb the vivid descriptions of rural Venezuela.
"The Hacienda" is a memoir that reads more like fiction than the actual experiences of a young woman. The author's naivete and the reality of her husband, and the other central characters both seem implausible and from another era; one could imagine this story being written by Emily Bronte. It is hard to believe that a contemporary from London could have gotten herself into such a situation, and I found myself checking several times to verify that what transpired actually occurred in the '70's. Additionally, it was hard to imagine that any part of Venezuela would remain this feudal, much less an affluent, "aristocratic" family largely anchored in Caracas.
This is a tale of ongoing abuse, brutality, resilience, and survival. One gets the impression that the author must be made of granite; however, the reader also feels incredible frustration that she could have allowed herself to remain mired for so long in such an oppressive, primitive, and menacing environment. The author depicts her daily plight through oblique correspondence to her mother in England, and reveals a stoic, pragmatic approach of day to day coping, while ignoring and indirectly enabling the ugly brutality of her schizophrenic husband. Perhaps this is primarily a memoir of how victims sustain the conditions which subject them.
Her descriptions of "el gente" at Hacienda Santa Rita are a fascinating glimpse of feudal rural Latin America. This is an interesting book, but a tense read. It is interesting and rivetting, but not a relaxing experience.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantastic!
Comment: I loved this book. This true story is moving, intense, and a wonderful portrait of the coming of age of a young woman. I believe that men will also enjoy this book. The portraits of each individual in the book are well-drawn and the story is exciting.
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Title: Memory Maps by Lisa St. Aubin De Teran ISBN: 1860499317 Publisher: Virago Press (UK) Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard ISBN: 0316085251 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 29 January, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: A Valley in Italy by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran ISBN: 0060926198 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 07 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Palace : A Novel by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran ISBN: 0060956534 Publisher: Ecco Pub. Date: 02 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Elements of Italy by Lisa St Aubin De Teran, Lisa St. Aubin De Teran ISBN: 1566492424 Publisher: Welcome Rain Publishers Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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