Maridos. (Husbands)
Reviewed by Carolyn Kost, Stevenson Sch. Lib., Pebble Beach, CA -- Críticas, 1/15/2008
Mastretta, Ángeles.
U.S.: Rayo/HarperCollins & Planeta. 2007. 256p. ISBN 978-0-06-137509-5. pap. $14.95. STORIES
Journalist and best-selling author Mastretta, whose Mal de amores (1996) won the prestigious Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize, here presents a masterly collection of over 40 stories. Set in Mexico, the stories deal with various facets of love: forgiveness, insecurities and infidelities, star-crossed lovers whom fate finally pities, enduring love, and, conversely, love that dissipates and evaporates. Mastretta reveals the poignancy and humor in the quotidian, which is perhaps clearest in the stories that deal with midlife as a turning point: after the bloom is off the rose, what lingers is either the fragrance or the thorns. Something as innocuous as poor spelling can lead to a marriage’s final dissolution, as in “Ortografía” (“Orthography”). Widowhood or divorce leads the female characters in many of these stories to take the reins and steer in new directions toward self-realization. Mastretta demonstrates that the conventions that maintain social order can also suffocate and cause misery; the courageous abrogate them and find liberation and fulfillment. It is comforting to remember that, as Luis relates in “En el parque” (“In the Park), “sexual infidelity is undone by a good bath.” After all, even the young daughter in “Tentar el Diablo” (“Tempt the Devil”) knows that “the love of your life is the one you don’t marry.” Rife with gender and class issues, Maridos just begs to be a selection for women’s book discussion groups. Highly recommended.
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