Customer Reviews

A Place Where the Sea Remembers

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone having read Steinbeck's The Pearl recalls the power of poverty and the simple life of its characters who are pulled into ironic tragedy. So, one considers the native citizenry of Benitez's Mexican tourist village of Santiago, impoverished in the main, and subject to a cruel fate. What is especially potent in this very readable short book is the manner in which Benitez interweaves her characters with their diverse problems and needs into one another's lives. Remedios' presence as the curandero sets the tone; these lives are fated to face life head on, just as the forces of nature ebb and flow. Their fates are an integral part of nature itself.

Since its publication in 1993, I have used Benitez' book as a springboard for multicultural reading for my senior English students. I still recommend it for use with other students. I emphatically recommend it to any reader.

I read this book for a college lit course and loved it. It was an amazing tale that I had first thought was a collection of short stories. Benitez wove the stories together in the end for a thrilling ending. I was fortunate enough to meet and hear Benitez speak at my college. She had my attention for the entire hour that she spoke. I really loved this novel.

I found that in reading Ms. Benitez' first novel that I was being lulled into a gentle portrait of the interconnectedness of the people of the village of Santiago and I enjoyed that, most of the time. At other times, I felt that the author, in the name of verisimilitude, strove to re-create the village life so much that it got in the way of the truth of the story. Remedios, the central character, was under-developed as a shamanness--that is, I wanted to see her power over the lives of the other characters WHEN THEIR STORIES WERE BEING TOLD. Instead, she was just an intercalary effect.

But really, these are small criticisms. It was refreshing to read a novel where each character was treated with their own dignity.

I enjoyed the contents of the Benetiz compilation of stories. Each had a full meaning and connects to each reader through feelings of pain, loss, guilt, longing and so much more. Benitez entitles the story very well, because even though all the stories are separate, they intertwine in this town, Santiago, which is close by the sea. It relates to a sailors own tales, and even though the sea is rough and forceful at times, it holds many stories full of love and heartache. Remedios is part of the sea and in tune with nature so much that she knows the troubles of every one. The main focus shifted every so often, but in general I think Benitez wanted to say that we can bury or throw away our painful pasts, but anyday, it may be dragged back to us by the foaming sea currents. Our pasts will either drag us down, or kill us, it is what we do for the future that ensures whether it is true or not. And making the right choices isn't always the easiest thing to do when life doesn't have many options for a tourist town like Santiago. Even the town itself is meaningful. It contains many lives that nonetheless are dreamful and hopeful, but not changing as much as they would like.

i really enjoyed this novel. Benitez uses great detail in her writings and i felt like I was there watching the town go through all it's tragedy and happiness.

This is a great book for any one to read. It is relivent to many levels and speaks in many ways. There is an interesting form of writing at work here that I have never had the joy of seeing before. It is a very gripping book and made me want to keep reading, and comeing from a 15 year old girl who has mny other things to be doing besides reading a novel, that is a big complement. I would recomend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about life in the world around them.

This book consist of many short stories about the people who live in the small town of Santiago, Mexico. While some parts are tragic there are some happy times for these people also. I loved the way all of these stories and characters were intertwined together and the ending surprised me completely. I recommend reading this book.

This is a great book because the characters are skillfully put together, all the characters have a place and play a very important part of the novel there is no one in the novel who I felt was a extra or useless person in there. This are ordinary people that lived in a small community of the coast in Mexico, all their lives are tied together. The person who I liked best and I would suggest you pay extra attention to is Remedios she plays a key role in the story. I will highly recomend this book for readers who don't have a lot of experience reading like me.

A Place Where the Sea Remembers. A beautiful title for a flowery collection of vigniettes that wind throughout the lives of the dirt-poor residents of some little Mexican tourist village, going everywhere and eventually tying together in the final chapters of the book. Up untill that point I was reading and reading about seemingly unconnected people and their quasi-ordinary adventures and wondering what the point was. The writing style is continuous and soothing,like the sea (if you're looking for a book where it feels as though the writer is having a conversation with you, this is NoT it; this book is written like a storyteller's tale), but the storyline is anything but tranquil at times. The reader is taken into the lives of people who any average American could hardly imagine living like: these people have 1 room houses (and the book is set in 1980's Mexico), hardly any possessions, are impoverished by our definition of it, and although they lead "simple" lives, they all have complex problems, feelings and relationships of their own. This book does take the reader to another way of life that is geographically near- but so far from their own. This is a strong point. I was irritated while reading this book, though, because virtually all of the 1st half of it was sidestories and excursions which, though pleasant to read, played no part in the books, rising and falling action. In retrospect, I'd say that this is a "good" book, by the general definition. While reading it, however, I had thought it pointless and frivolous at times. If you have spare time and are looking for a lulling, almost-poetic read that will encourage you to ponder fate and its role in the lives of others, then this book is a fine choice for you. If this book is on your summer reading list though, I'd urge you to seriously consider your other choices before settling on A Place Where the Sea Remembers. The book being relatively short is a plus, if it had hundreds of pages of serendipitous sidestories it would be like reading air- no substance. But considering how the story is set in a small Mexican tourist-town on the sea, A PLace Where the Sea Remembers would make a really good beach read!

Great book. All are short stories, which can be read in short sittings. Yet all the stories are interconnected, so you get a real sense of the characters. I love to read books related to where I travel and I read this book on a recent trip to Mexico. It was perfect. In fact, I bought copies for friends as gifts.