Review
Ostensibly the story of a much loved old woman, Mama Blanca's Memoirs is the semi-fictional account of Teresa de la Parra's late nineteenth-century childhood on a Venezuelan sugar plantation. Witnessed through the eyes of Blanca Nieves, this is the story of six little girls who "formed a rising staircase stretching from seven months to seven years" and knew their plantation, Piedra Azul, "existed for the sole purpose of enfolding us in its bosom and displaying day after day new surprises to our admiring eyes." Despite the fact that Mama Blanca - "Blanca Nieves, Snow White" - is dark-eyed, brown-skinned, and black-haired, she and her name became inseparable, "a walking absurdity that only habit, with its kindly indulgence, made acceptable." Besides stories about her sisters and Mama, here are tales about Papa, who wanted sons; Evelyn, their English-speaking nanny who spoke Spanish without articles; Candelaria, the grumpy queen of their kitchen; Vincente, the medicine man, handy-man, and revolutionary general; Cousin Juanacho, who "wore his noble, well-brushed poverty with quiet dignity;" and Daniel, the dairy man whose songs made the cows' milk flow. Teresa de la Parra's skilled mixture of sweet warmth and witty realism makes Mama Blanca's Memoirs an evocative and engrossing read. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
