Reviewer: Amy Lignor
Title: Our Lady of the Night
Author: Mayra Santos-Febres
Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-173130-3
Release Date: August 2009
Genre/Sub-genre: Historical Fiction
Year/Setting: 1940s+ Hormigueros/Puerto Rico (World War II era)
Overall Rating: 2.0
Sexual Content Rating: Sensual/Sexual
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: Moderate/Extreme
Violent Content Rating: Moderate
Mayra's Website: None found
Dear Readers:
Hmmm...You're going to read that alot, I think, because for most of this novel I was "Hmm"ing all the way through every page. For any literary prose, this is usually a good thing. It means that the reader is thinking; that they are sitting in their living rooms turning the pages in order to immerse themselves in the mystery of a really mind-twisting story. I would love to tell you that this is why my mind is still "Hmm"ing. However, after placing this book on the bedside table I have to be honest and tell you that the Hmming turned to "Huh?" In fact, I looked alot my hundred-pound dog, Reuben, who was staring up at me with his caramel-colored eyes, searching for the answer to why the horrible cat has this insatiable need to scare the pants off of him.
I am not (as, hopefully, most of you have noticed) a reluctant twin of Homer Simpson. In fact, his catch-phrase is "D'oh!" not "Huh?" But, after reading and re-reading, I am shamed to admit that I just didn't get this. Perhaps it is simply because this book is a translation from the author's native Spanish and the translation was simply...well...lost.
This story centers around a poverty-stricken, and then orphaned by her mother, woman who goes by the name of Isabel "La Negra" Luberza. Don't worry, the reader will not feel bad for Isabel for long. Although born into a "rock and a hard place" world, she soon becomes a young, extremely sensual young woman who is obsessed, literally, with becoming "one" with the aristocrats of her world. She is loaded with ambition and a sexual appetite that makes men cry to be near her. She hitches her wagon to a man by the name of Fernando Fornaris, and then this intelligent child becomes one of the most sought-after woman in Puerto Rico's history.
She gains a parcel of land from her married lover, abandons her own child, and becomes a madam who holds secrets that rival the FBI's most fearsome detectives. This is a woman with so much power that she will give up everything to get the nobility and respect that she believes she deserves. Should we admire her? Should we stand behind this woman and say, "You go, girl! Let those jerks really have it!" Hmm...
There are truly poetic lines in this tome. There are boys wanting to enjoy their first BIG night out "...in search of a place where they could loosen the bindings of their decency." At one point her strong-willed godmother is standing before an aristocratic woman and "shrinks before Isabel's eyes." The poetry is found throughout and is fluid, offering the reader a brilliant look at the beautiful backdrop of the Caribbean world. It delivers prose that will make your mouth water and your eyes shine - perhaps, even your skin burn with...impure thoughts. But, unfortunately, for timing, character depth and development, and plot - it simply left me saying, "Hmm..."
Until Next Time, Amy
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