What do You think about The House On The Lagoon (1996)?
The House on the Lagoon follows the fortunes of the Mendizabal family from Buenaventura Mendizabal’s arrival in Puerto Rico on July 4, 1917 to the mid 1990s, while also chronicling the history of the island as a U.S. territory. An orphan from a small town in Spain, Buenaventura hopes to find work in Puerto Rico as an accountant. By a lucky chance, he is introduced to Rebecca Arrigoitia, the only daughter of a wealthy family. They marry soon after their first meeting and Buenaventura begins to im
—Ryl
I feel a little sheepish on this one because I didn't realize the book was originally written in English. I've read other things by Ferré in Spanish and just assumed this was the original. On the positive side, this is a really good novel and if you don't read Spanish, you can pick up the original in English. I loved the parallels between the Mendizábal family saga and the history of Puerto Rico, and the metanarrative device of Quintín and Isabel arguing over the appropriate way to tell the family story. The novel also builds tension steadily to the surprising, bold, provocative conclusion.
—Gabriel Oak
Isabel Monfort, married to Quintin Mendizabal, intended to write the story of the Mendizabals and the Monforts, to account the history behind each generation. But somewhere along the way, it turned into something else, a novel about freedom from the clutching hands of power whether it be political and familial.In this saga of a wealthy Puerto Rican family, secrets go abound with riches and status. Beginning with Buenaventura Mendizabal’s arrival to the island in the early twentieth century as a descendant of old Spanish Conquistadors, it encompassed several decades up until the mid-nineties. One day, Quintin discovers the manuscripts and was in complete disagreement with the accuracy of the facts he read, claiming it a tale of fiction bending to the writer’s whims. With each passing chapter however, Isabel’s writing becomes more poignant, displaying the innermost thoughts and desires of each character. As the drama escalates in the story, so does the conflict in the Mendizabal household and the tension within the nation.The House on the Lagoon works like a series of stories about the prominent men and matriarchs of the Mendizabals and Monforts as well as the few figures of Peru society. Each chapter is quite a stand alone, each one as engaging as the next. Interspersed between them were small narratives of Quintin and Isabel at the time the novel is being written. The book also gives the readers a bigger picture of the political turmoil and prejudices within the country in the old days and its stumbling effects being a commonwealth colony of United States. Not only the nation but the characters themselves struggle for an identity.Rosario Ferre, as the voice of Isabel, writes in a nostalgic way, warm and fierce at the same time, matching the heat of the South American island which could be sleepy or unrepentant. Her characters wield powers of their own; the men with their influence and wealth and ancestry blood running through their veins, the women, like Petra and Ermelinda Quinones, with the force of their will and wit.The little touch of magic only enhanced an exotic flavor to the cultural expressions portrayed in the story. I love its added drama to fate of the Russian ballet teacher Andre and Isabel’s friend when the curtains on the ballet recital went up.Ferre gives us a story steeped of old colonial aspects; the toast of the town, disparity, political upheavals, and the ultimate climb to power.
—Rouen
