La Ragazza Dai Capelli Di Fiamma (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Some of my favorite lines from the novel:"I felt both restless and paralyzed, yearning for motion yet unable to do anything ordinary such as open a book, cook dinner, call friends and meet them for drinks." (pg. 18)"I wrote this story for myself, in the depth of the night, spilling over beyond the demands of the assignment, which was a story of three pages while my own version continued on for thirteen, every page surprised me, made me wonder where it came from, where the words and memory-breaths and tangled translucent avenues and ethereal lost people with distorted mouths had come from, what this force that pushed my pen across the page could be." (pg. 23)"I often had no idea what the words meant, but I didn't say so, and if Romina didn't understand them, she didn't say so either. Tasting the words was enough. We approached them freely, without the pressure of analysis or even understanding, for the pure pleasure they incited." (pg. 35)"You don't walk in truth, you walk in the reality you want to inhabit, you walk in the reality you can stand. This is how realities are made." (pg. 64)"Books were already a familiar refuge, after all, and they still took me in without the slightest judgement. They don't close to you the way a person can. You might feel as though you don't belong anywhere, least of all in your own home, you might feel bound to a person whose actions you abhor yet unable to divorce yourself, struggling to individuate in their shadow-all these feelings you wouldn't dare articulate to another person, not matter how highly trained-but you can bring your whole untempered self to book. You can ask them anything, and though you may need to search for the resonant lines, though the answer may come at a slant, they will always speak to you, they will always let you in. And so I entered and entered...I trusted books more than people." (pg. 69)"There are some experiences that only you can enter, that only you can truly hold. They are too vast to be imparted." (pg. 217) I am the only one in my book club who liked this book. So, it is not for everyone. I found the writing beautiful. I love the way the author unfurled the story, gave the reader so much background, and did it in an average sized book. I think it helps to read up on some of the history of The Dirty War in Argentina before one reads Perla. It might also be helpful to know that this genre is often called magical realism. I think we will be hearing great things about this author.
What do You think about La Ragazza Dai Capelli Di Fiamma (2012)?
a good story, though one told even better in the movie "the official story."
—naila
Tough read because of the subject matter and prose but worth the effort.
—lmadden
Well written, just couldn't get into it. Stopped at 15%.
—sophiah17
A beautifully written, spellbinding novel.
—Alexus
