Even if I admit to harboring a secret love of some romanticism and their long winded descriptions, Cumanda proved too much for me. It may just be that I'm not used to such lavish descriptions in spanish or simply that making it through pages upon pages of descriptions was by no mean an easy feat. It wasn't all bad, of course. I almost enjoyed reading a few parts. Although I struggled with the vocabulary, the first chapter made those Ecuadorian jungles strangely appealing. It was like a travel account of sorts, reminded me of The Travels of Marco Polo with its descriptions of foreign lands and the people who inhabited them for the amusement of the curious and inexperienced reader. Particularly in the beginning it seemed to me like looking at a national geographic picture or some sort of display. Rather than feeling like I've become somewhat familiar with the indigenous people described they became more exotic almost.
I find it terrible that in order for me to truly love and enjoy a book I have to be almost in love with one of the characters. This was not the case with Cumanda. Neither Carlos or Cumanda seemed appealing to me and their love story was almost too over the top for me. The whole forbidden love ordeal gained no sympathy from me this time around (a rare occurrence).
It seemed by making this love story Mera wasn't simply tying together two individuals from different backgrounds, but uniting certain concepts that were tied to the cultures. Opposites like civilization and savagery placed together created harmony and a happy medium. From what I've read the solution to the indigenous problem and the confusion of races was to assimilate and create unity.
1 comment:
Hola Lily. I share your reaction and found the characters in Cumanda far too stereotyped and flat to be appealing in any way. The novel is a half-baked tropical Romeo and Juliet. Instead of being, as in Shakespeare, at the service of art, it serves Mera´s didactic intention and fails aesthetically.
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