The beauty of storytelling overpasses any other literary beauty. One beautiful sentence is not enough. One beautiful paragraph is not enough. But a story that takes me to the wings of dreams, that´s what I am looking for.
Le rêve du jaguar/The Jaguar´s Dream by Miguel Bonnefoy was my favorite book I´ve read in January. It was that kind of moment when I just focus on anything else, not necessarily because I was expecting some spectacular revelations, but because I just wanted to be in the story, to be shared its mystery.
Set in the Venezuelan port of Maracaibo, it has from the very beginning the tone of a magical story, in the vein of Garcia Marquez. Antonio, an orphan found on the stairs of a church by a mute woman, growing up on the streets and initiated to life in a brothel, will become Venezuela´s most important doctors. Alongside with Ana Maria Rodriquez, his doctor wife, they will navigate the changing waters of Venezuela´s politics and recent history. The personal events enfold in the global panorama with the elegance of butterfly wings.
I´ve read the book in the original French language and was an extraordinary choice allowing me to sip the poetry of the words and the poetic background of the story.
Bonnefoy, born in Paris in a Venezuelan-Chilian family, confessed in some interviews being inspired by family stories, Antonio sharing common features with his own grandfather.
As I started the year with many beautiful books in French lined up, I cannot wait to share more stories that break the everyday lives into sparkles of magic. I feel more than grateful for the chance of being able to read and review such novels.
Rating: 5 stars
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