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The Farm
The Farm | Héctor Abad
1 post | 2 read
Closely knit Colombian siblings' internal rifts threaten to tear apart the hard-won legacy their father fought to establish against guerilla and paramilitary violence. An intimate and transgressive novel that confirms Héctor Abad as one of the great writers of Latin American literature today. Pilar, Eva, and Antonio Ángel are the last heirs of La Oculta, a farm hidden in the mountains of Colombia. The land has survived several generations. It is the landscape of their happiest memories but it is also where they have had to face the siege of violence and terror, restlessness and flight. In The Farm, Héctor Abad illuminates the vicissitudes of a family and of a people, as well as of the voices of these three siblings, recounting their loves, fears, desires, and hopes, all against a dazzling backdrop. We enter their lives at the moment when they are about to lose the paradise on which they built their dreams and their reality.
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batsy
The Farm | Héctor Abad
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Mehso-so

Surprisingly, this book was a drag. It has three interwoven narratives; three siblings think about their farm, & through their impressions & memories, the history of Colombia. Some interesting points about land ownership, capitalism, & political violence are bogged down by the individual siblings' bland bourgeois nostalgia. Problematic "opinions" about abortion, adoption, & homophobia among African-Americans are simply left unchallenged. ⬇ï¸

batsy The prose is polished, graceful, lyrical. But it was so well-mannered & tedious. It's only the final chapter that had any emotional heft; it puts into context modernisation & what people—whoIe societies—have lost in terms of their connection to nature. But 300+ pages to get to something moving doesn't make sense. In between, it felt self-indulgent, tepid; characters looping around the same solipsistic concerns. The structure didn't work for me. 6y
saresmoore How did you manage to squeeze in this one, too?! I‘m in awe. 6y
saresmoore Also, I award fifteen bonus points for the use of solipsistic. 6y
See All 12 Comments
TrishB Wonderful review â¤ï¸ 6y
Suet624 Your reviews are amazing. 6y
niha923 Great review! 6y
batsy @saresmoore 😠I've just been foregoing my usual amount of sleep in my bid to read ALL THE BOOKS and I predict this is not going to end well 😂 Plus, no kids! I'm in awe of all of you who are parents who get *everything* done plus reading â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ 6y
batsy @TrishB @Suet624 @niha923 Thank you so much! 6y
Ms_T Great review as always x 6y
batsy Thank you @Ms_T 💙 6y
RohitSawant Love how sharp and precise your review is! 6y
batsy @rohit-sawant Thank you! :) 6y
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