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I imagine the ocean, with its swirling, watery fingers knitting together the two lives I have lived.

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There are so many references to European literature and culture (mostly French, but also British, German, and of course Spanish, though not as much as I thought he would) in this poetry collection. The quoted poem is about Marguerite Gautier (or here, Margarita), the Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux camélias) from the novel/play of the same name by Alexandre Dumas fils.

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Mario Vargas Llosa is an excellent author. The fact that it took 3 months for me to finish it should have no bearing on what a well-written book it is. The issue is with the lengthy paragraphs in extremely long chapters. It‘s not the type of book to sneak in a few pages when you can. You actually have to devote time to it. Peruvian Ricardo believes true peace will be his if he can just live his life in Paris. Spoiler: he does. As a child in ⬇️

So I pretty much inhaled this cult 80s novel about an upper-class female architect enrolled in the Sandinista revolutionary guerilla in 70s #Nicaragua. It's both nuanced and terrifying. Also very feminist, with men in the movement trying their best to deprogram their own machismo, with varying degrees of success. ⬇

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Halfway through tagged book and enjoying it.
I made Nicaraguan fresco de cacao ( using this recipe : https://www.jonathanmelendez.com/nicaraguan-fresco-de-cacao/ )
Veeeery nice: it's a cold chocolate drink made with cacao beans, cinnamon, rice, sugar and vanilla. It's more involved and time-consuming than I first thought (whole process shown in pic), but I will make it again.
#Nicaragua #FoodandLit
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First poem in this collection by Rubén Darío, and the parallels between it and Nerval's Fantaisie jump out to me (but then, I'm French and I had to learn it by heart at school).

#Nicaragua #FoodandLit
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In the author‘s note, she describes the Nicaraguan poet‘s life, the subject of this book. Rubén Darío (1867-1916) appears to have had a tremendous impact on Latin America and in his home country, #Nicaragua. #foodandlit @catsandbooks