Bookish Thursday - A Delicate Marriage by Margarita Barresi

As winter is taking over from fall, part of me wishes I was in Puerto Rico. So this book review did transport me there, but a few decades ago. But first the business of the review.

This book review is sponsored by WOW-Women on Writing. For their opinion of the book, check this out. 

About the book...

From glittering ballrooms to verdant mountains to poverty-stricken slums, A Delicate Marriage takes the reader on a vivid tour of Puerto Rico forty years after becoming a U.S. colony, a time of great change and political turmoil on the island.

 

Isabela, a wealthy woman, sacrifices her artistic aspirations to marry Marco, a penniless man dedicated to improving conditions on the island. As the island's insular government enacts pro-U.S. policies, Marco builds a real estate empire while struggling to maintain his populist principles. Meanwhile, Isabela feels unfulfilled in her traditional role as a wife and mother and becomes disillusioned with Marco's shifting moral compass. She begins to identify with anti-U.S. factions, leading a dangerous double life that puts her family in peril.

 

As political violence threatens their paradise, Isabela and Marco question whether their marriage, like the island's relationship with the U.S., should continue. Margarita Barresi's debut novel celebrates Puerto Rican culture while delving into themes of class, oppression, and the effects of colonialism through the lens of a marriage.

 

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

ISBN-10: 1639889302

ISBN-13: 978-1639889303

Print length: 352 pages

 

Purchase a copy of the book at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Bookshop.org and add it to your Goodreads reading list. 

Now for my opinion...

First off, while there are Spanish phrases in the book, I do wish I was bilingual. It is easy to sort out what is being said by the rest of the conversation around the phrases, I do wish I could speak Spanish. 

That being said, I also wish we were taught more, or rather anything at all, about the history of Puerto Rico in school. There is much about the history of the island I was learning about. And since the two main characters were on opposite sides of the struggles, I feel you do get a fairly balanced view. 

There is also the struggle of a woman in the 1950's and 60's who is trying to find a place in her world beyond being 'just' a mother and wife. To become fulfilled as a person in her own right. 

I enjoyed the journey as Marco and Isa learn how to grow together as a couple and how to develop their own selves outside of the confines of the society they exist in. A good read overall.

But for other opinions, check these out...