The Aguero Sisters

THE AGUERO SISTERS

by Cristina Garcia

 

Nominations: Dublin Longlist 1999, Women's Longlist 1998

 

Date Read: October 1, 2021

 

The Aguero Sisters is a novel about the Aguero family both past and present. What makes this particular tale of family legacy unique is the Cuban culture and mysticism that is sprinkled throughout. Told through the lives of Constancia and Reina, two sisters who have both fled Cuba for the U.S. but still carry the burdens and beauty of their native country with them.

 

Constancia and Reina couldn’t be more different. Raised apart because of jealousy and a mentally questionable mother, Constancia fled Cuba and lived most of her adult life in New York before moving in retirement to Miami. Reina has stayed behind in Cuba and became an electrician and while out working during a storm, was struck by lightning. Her skin is a patchwork of donated skin. Rather than cause her self-esteem to flag, her skin makes her feel even more desirable.

 

Reina eventually moves to Miami and moves in with her sister. As they begin comparing notes about the past, many family secrets and suppositions are brought to light that have them questioning the truth – that their father murdered their mother. This truth is hard for both sisters to accept, although they somewhat knew this all along.

 

I appreciated the sensuousness of this novel, the unbridled sexuality portrayed of Cuban women. To be desired, Reina asserts, is mostly a mental projection rather than how you present yourself physically. But beyond this, the acceptance of sex as a fact of life, rather than a shameful and hidden desire, is refreshing and intoxicating. Even the request of Reina to taste Isabel’s breast milk, while shocking, didn’t seem to be completely abnormal, but a request within the bounds of sisterhood. 

 

The Cuban mysticism only added to the story as Constancia attempts to resolve what she believes is a long-term curse placed on her family. The santera she hires leads her through spells and incantations he assures her will lift this dark veil. Pumpkins, animal blood, shells, candles all play a role in this healing. Obviously, whether these exercises are successful or not is in the eye and mind of the beholder.

 

“We hold only partial knowledge of each other, she thinks. We’re lucky to get even a shred of the dark, exploding whole.”

 

“As she pulls up in front of Isabel, the sight of her hugely pregnant daughter moves her. How does anyone recover from such an ordeal?” 


Gorgeous prose, although repetitive in places, Garcia had be captivated from the first page and wanting more. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more