Happy Days, Uncle Sergio (Secret Weavers Series) [Paperback]

Magali García Ramis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1995 | Series: Secret Weavers Series (Book 8)

A novel of love and loss set against the rapidly-changing backdrop of 1950s Puerto RicoJuan Martínez Capó called it a "novel that is a joyful chronicle of Puerto Rican solidarity," and Efraín Barradas stated that its "combination of traditional mythical structure and contemporary realism gives García Ramis' novel a very special appeal, a present-day ambiguity."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This best-seller in Puerto Rico tells the story of a young girl growing up on the island in the 1950s. Fatherless siblings Lydia and Andres live in a household of women, enjoying a magical childhood, blissfully unaware of the growing tensions between Puerto Rican separatists and those who wish to be Americanized. Only when enigmatic, secretive Uncle Sergio comes to stay with the family does Lydia awaken from her childhood lethargy. Irresistibly drawn to her uncle, Lydia is entranced by his secrets, especially the mysterious, whispered phone calls that leave him crying. The years pass and eventually Uncle Sergio moves back to New York, but Lydia will never be the same; her experiences with Uncle Sergio have awakened in her a need to find her own identity, both as a woman and as a Puerto Rican--just as Puerto Rico struggles to recover its own identity. This outstanding book captures the fleeting magic of childhood and the confusion of adulthood with grace, style, and touching honesty. Kathleen Hughes

Review

"Reading Magali Garcia Ramis is always a treat. She knows how to tell a good story and keep you interested to the end. 'Happy Days, Uncle Sergio', a novel about growing up in Puerto Rico in the fifties, rings with the quiet power of real life recreated with warmth, tenderness, and simplicity." -- Ana Lydia Vega.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: White Pine Press (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877727520
• ISBN-13: 978-1877727528
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #782,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Una alma conquestada/A conquested soul, October 15, 2005

By 

CaitMcP (Western WA US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Happy Days, Uncle Sergio (Secret Weavers Series) (Paperback)

MUST READ FOR ANYONE OF PUERTO RICAN HERITAGE (TODOS!!!) OR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE INDIVIDUAL AND CULTURAL EFFECTS OF IMPERIALISM AND DOMINATION AND, OF COURSE, TO UNDERSTAND LATIN AMERICA BETTER IN GENERAL.

Read in Spanish if possible. The vocabulary is accessible to an intermediate-advanced student. (It's a novel; you don't need to understand EVERY word. The first 20 pages may be slightly difficult in vocab, but keep reading.)

This Bildungroman (novel of how a person is formed) upon publication was the most popular contemporary novel in Puerto Rico -not without reason. The main protagonist, Lidia, grows up in PR in a family that identifies and reaffirms their Spanish heritage, while recognizing their Latin and Puerto Rican roots only occasionally through food and at Christmas, music. All the members of Lidia's family idealize foreign cultures: England, Italy, Spain (the old ruler/colonizer), Germany and the US (the new ruler/colonizer).

The principle theme of this book is about affirm of identity in a dominated culture, but other central themes are racism, sexism, heterosexism (to a small'ito' degree), imperialism, religion, politics and how they intertwine.

Garcia Ramis uses the voice and view of a child -a young girl, which allows Ramis to explore problems without judging or analyzing them. It is the job of the reader to judge and analyze the child's problems and their significance. In the ending, we hear the voice of the child grown and judging some of the problems she faced as a child with the articulation of an adult. Her frustrations are direct and clear. We learn who she became and how.

Garcia Ramis herself grew up in a even more Spanish family and is now an 'independista,' despite growing up in a pro-US control family. In an interview, she discussed that the protagonist's famiy was not her own, but a amalgamation of Puerto Rican families, including her own, as well as friends, classmates and students.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid portrayal of a young girl's dreams and her reality, March 29, 1999

By 

"berenjena" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Happy Days, Uncle Sergio (Secret Weavers Series) (Paperback)

In this book we get a good glimpse of family life in Puerto Rico, where young children learn to deal with the realities of life and still manage to have dreams and fantasies. Uncle Sergio is a very special adult that shows her niece that not all grown ups need to be the same. Uncle Sergio is a fun book that explores the growing up of children and their attempts to make sense of the world around them.