The Invisible Mountain

This is a book that starts off with a whisper of a story rather than all-out drama but where the reader is quickly rewarded for sticking with it. Invisible Mountain has Gabriel Garcia Marquez's lyrical writing style and Isabel Allende's rich detail, sense of adventure, and political observation. I hate to label it as female-centric because this is as much a book for men as it is for women but it's a sad fact that retelling history through the eyes of women will usually get you labelled as a writer with a feminist agenda. If you like fast-paced stories, enjoyed anything by Isabel Allende or are enamoured with Latin culture and history, then you'll love this story about Uruguay, the tiny country with a big history, as seen through the eyes of three ethereal yet ultimately strong women. My only critique is that one particular character acted too maturely for her young age, but I disagree with reviewers who said all the male characters were presented as brutes. The men are just as enigmatic and multi-layered as the women, not clearly good or evil, only as selfish as just about any real human being.

The Invisible Mountain begins magically with newborn Pachita of Uruguay disappearing after birth and reappearing in a tree months later. Eventually marrying "the Incredible Disappearing Husband," Pachita supports her family with her herbal remedies. Her narrative is the first of three, briefer and less emotionally engaging than others. It soon melts into the story of her poetess daughter Eva, who is compelled to give up her education to work in a shoe store, who guards the secret of her employer's abuse, blaming herself, and surviving by "diving into words." We feel her struggle with her, sharing her inner life. This three-generational novel then plummets into stark realism with a focus on Eva's daughter. Salome becomes a committed Tupamaro revolutionary, enduring torture and deprivation as a political prisoner, and retreating into the numbness of a shadowy existence. We also experience the profound bonds between the courageous women of this family, whose devotion to each other continues despite separation and silence. The Invisible Mountain is a brilliant novel, comparable to Marquez' Hundreds Years of Solitude, and alive in parts with the same magical realism. Occasionally, DeRobertis captivates the reader with lyrical passages and descriptions - "poetry leaked onto her waitress tablet," "the dark shrivel of tomorrow," "hands that moved like hummingbird's wings." Yet more frequently (and especially in regard to Salome), she relies upon stark, straightforward language, understatement which slowly but deeply draws us into the web of her world. The context of this world is a family coping with life in the politically and economically unstable Uruguay and Argentina throughout the early and middle twentieth century - from democracy to dictatorship, revolution, then democracy. Throughout, the metaphor of the invisible mountain of Montevideo becomes a recurring theme, resonating with the emotional lives of these courageous women. As I entered this world, I was particularly enamored with Eva's story - Eva, who is "stowing her soft inner parts in caves of leather", but unwilling to silence her Muse, Eva who yearns for the elusive Andres, who is transported into still another life in Argentina, where she is inspired by another Eva, Eva Peron, and awakened to love. In her life too we encounter the surprising and fascinating Zola. Yes, most of the men are violators of women, and the socio-political history, although a significant influence upon the narrative, is not explained as thoroughly as it could be. But these are minor flaws. Readers who wish to burrow deep within a novel, and who are willing to experience the harsh realities that these women face will be rewarded with a story which lingers in memory long after the last page is turned. The path is through pain, but as deRobertis' gently and tenderly guides us onward, along the way we discover the haunting beauty of these women's fortitude, their quiet dignity, and their capacity to move

The Invisible Mountain is an impressive and ambitious debut novel. It tells the story - told in poetic oral history - of three generations of women in a working class family in Uruguay. It is the story of the rise and fall of the fortunes of the three women in conjunction with the rise and fall of Uruguay. The novel is split into three sections, named after each of the women: Pajarita, Eva, and Salome. The novel captures the voices of each of the women and each section has a different "feel". Each section describes the women's trajectories from girlhood to young womanhood to motherhood and describes how the women come to terms with the realities of their lives compared to their youthful aspirations. Uruguayan history and their hopes and dreams for their country are mixed in to these personal histories. The novel begins with Salome writing a letter to an unknown daughter and abruptly shifts to a magical, Isabel Allende/Gabriel Garcia Marquez-style story set in a small gaucho town in turn of the century Uruguay. The star of this section is Pajarita, who begins life as a nameless baby who disappears, then magically reappears several months later perched high in the branches of a tree. Pajarita grows up in a ranch with cow skull stools and never leaves her village until a traveling circus comes to town. She marries an Italian immigrant, Ignazio Firielli and moves to the growing Montevideo. Her section continues until Eva, her youngest child is a young girl. The second section is about Pajarita's daughter Eva, beginning when Eva is about 5 years old. Eva is literate, unlike her mother, but her fortunes change drastically when she is drawn out of school to work. This section of the novel is beautiful poetry, capturing Eva's romanticism, hopes, and dreams to the cadence of Carlos Gardel's tangos. You can taste the flavors of Uruguay, and feel the lushness, aspirations, sensuality, and romance of 1930s to 1950s Montevideo and Buenos Aires (we even meet Eva Peron and Ernesto "Che" Guevarra!) in these sections. All the same, the section captures the darkness underlying that period of romance and optimism, in that male dominated society where a woman's virtue is of paramount importance and a man's power almost complete. The third section is about Salome, Eva's daughter. Salome is an idealist - a Tupamara rebel - who is forced to face the harsh realities of authoritarianism in Uruguay. The Salome sections are poetic, but less poetic compared to Eva, less magical compared to Pajarita - there is no Tango here, no Carlos Gardel, no glamourous cafe, no famous poets, no larger than life revolutionaries. This reflects, I think, the different environment in which she comes of age. Pajarita's youth is a period of national ebullience, reflecting the excitement of a rapidly developing Montevideo at the early part of the century. Eva's youth is a period of transition, an Uruguay where girls still may need to work, but one that is flush with pesos

It's difficult to believe that this is a debut novel. The prose is exquisitely rendered but never overdone, and the characters seem to come to life on the pages. Covering the lives of three generations of women: Pajarita, Eva, and Salome, the novel moves from Uruguay to Argentina and back again, tracing wars, revolutions and history as it traces the lives of these three fascinating women. It is well-researched and effectively transports the reader to South America. This is a book that you can truly disappear into; I found myself almost disoriented when it was time to put the book down. To me, this is the mark of a great writer-- when the reader can truly live inside the story. A very highly recommended novel.

This is an excellent debut novel. It addresses so many different family issues in each generation. Namely three generations spanning 90 years. The book is in three parts. Part one is Pajarita, part two is her daughter Eva, and part three is Salome, Pajarita's granddaughter. Pajarita's tale takes place in Uruguay in the early 1900s. She is a "miracle child" that disappears as a baby and suddenly reappears in a tree much later. When she becomes a young woman, she marries Ignazio, who is a gondola maker from Italy (he has his own unique story, but does not take too much of the book to tell it) now traveling with a carnival. Their whirlwind romance takes them to Montevideo where things start to sour as they deal with financial difficulties, gambling problems, and alcoholism. Pajarita deals with it all, raises her children, supports her family, and throughout the novel, appears to be a shelter in the storm. Eva's life is a bit more difficult. Her life introduces issues like child labor, child sexual abuse, and mental trauma. Things turn bad for her at home and she runs off to Argentina with a friend. She suffers much heartache before marrying a doctor and beginning a "perfect" life, only to end up exiled from the Peron's country. Eva's story tells a lot of Argentina's politics and the rise and fall of the Peron family, including the much revered Evita. After returning to Monetvideo with her husband and two children in tow, readers are introduced to more issues, including affairs, divorce, and even sex changes. Salome's story is the worst. It will be noted at this point that each generation has it worse than the last. I enjoyed this part much less than the others as it is mostly about Revolution and politics. Salome gives up school to join an underground revolution and of course, ends up arrested and imprisioned for ten years. I scanned over much of Salome's story. The life she leads in prison is rough and unpleasant, but it was the political details that bored me. The ending was absolutely stunning. A great debut novel. Would have warranted 5 stars except for the last part. I will be keeping an eye out for more by this author.