Obras reunidas II: Novelas I. (Collected Works II: Novels I)

Liliana Wendorff, Univ. of North Carolina, Pembroke -- Críticas, 6/1/2007

This second volume of Poniatowska’s collected works contains three classic novels published in a 28-year span: Hasta no verte Jesús mío (“Until I See You Jesus of Mine,” 1969), La “Flor de Lis” (“Fleur-de-Lis,” 1988), and Paseo de la Reforma (“Reforma Promenade,” 1997). It’s clear that the author identifies with the female protagonists of these three exceptional works. Jesusa Palancares, Mariana, and Amaya, the respective heroines, live in a society that marginalizes women. During the years of the revolution, Jesusa participates in the “male world,” first as a cook to the soldiers and then fighting alongside them. In the autobiographical Flor de Lis, the author fictionalizes the oppressive education given women in aristocratic families and exposes social mores that include the subjugation of women. Mariana is a French duchess who lives a privileged life in France until she must move to her mother’s native Mexico to escape World War II. (Poniatowska herself was born into an aristocratic family in France and moved to Mexico during the war.) Categorical contradictions between the rich and the poor are also exhibited in Paseo de la Reforma. When a rich young man named Ashby requires hospitalization after an accident, he’s mistakenly placed in the ward for the destitute. He eventually meets Amaya, an aristocratic social activist, and from her continues to learn about the dire problems of Mexico’s poor. This collection delivers a vivid look at Mexico’s history, gender divide, and class problems. Recommended for academic and public libraries, as well as bookstores serving readers of serious fiction.