Sep 25, 2008 13:36
Claribel Alegria is a Salvadoran expatriate who writes in the magic realist style. At least, that is the label which Western culture has seen fit to give her-Claribel simply writes. In her life and her writing natural and supernatural mix and mingle, with neither stigma nor clear line of delineation. This carries over into her writing, which is at the same time simple and complex, rooted in Central America and appealing to the world at large.
The bok I have chosen is Family Album, which is a trio of novellas under one cover. Within that, I have chosen the first novella, The Talisman. Julio Cortazar wrote of it, “I was fascinated by the story itself, but perhaps the real fascination lies in the control [Alegria] achieves over time and space: the continuous present that contains everything and gives the story its double beauty of reality and hallucination.”
The blurb on the back states, “These three novellas. . .explore three critical stages in a woman’s life and are an extraordinary example of Claribel Alegria’s ability to weave the magical and the real, the fantastic and the horrific. Karen, a young ‘corrupted’ Catholic school girl, talks to the walls and forms a strange relationship with an especially prudish nun. Ximena, a Nicaraguan woman living in Paris, finds herself being drawn into the 1979 revolution even though she is thousands of miles away. Marcia moves with her husband to Deya, a small mystical town in Mallorca where everyday life is a bizarre mixture of the supernatural and natural worlds.”
I went to the net to try to find you something more helpful. Barbara Fister, from Third World Women's Literatures, says this:
Three novellas, very different in style and tone. One, “The Talisman,” is a claustrophobic and psychologically very complex story of a girl who fascinates her “spiritual advisor,” a dour nun at her Catholic boarding school, wuth her unconventional life. The girl’s experience of being abused by her mother’s violent boyfriend helps her gain power over the nun, who was also sexually abused as a child. The girl consults regularly with her family and friends who appear in her room.
And, from a scene between Karen and the nun in question, where Karen recounts an incident of only partial reality:
“Tell me all you remember, don’t be afraid.”
“There were lots of chairs scattered around and an altar at the end of the room.”
“I beg your pardon?” Sister Mary Ann’s eyes widened. “They were celebrating Mass?”
“Yes.” Karen began to warm to her subject, a shiver of delight in her stomach. How amusing to observe the old woman growing scandalized over nothing! “The celebrant was Missouri’s uncle, Mr. Sherbert’s brother. Everyone was dancing and singing, and some men standing close to him were playing tambourines and singing in beautiful voices. Two other men were holding up a poor squealing lamb by the hooves.”
“A Black Mass!” gasped Sister Mary Ann. “Go on, go on.”
“They also had a chicken that Mr. Sherbert’s brother began to swing around in the air. The feathers drifted down and the lamb went on bleating while the singing and the banging of tambourines got louder and louder and finally they wrung the chicken’s neck and lots of blood spurted out.”
“Savages!” exclaimed the nun. “Why didn’t your mother forbid such friendships?”
“And Nicolasa got up from her chair,” Karen was quite carried away, “and began to dance. . . .”
The deadline for first lines for this novella is Sunday at 9PM BST (GMT +1).
Poll Family Album
game 18