February 04, 2006
Las Peliculas de Mi Vida
Las Peliculas de Mi Vida by Alberto Fuguet is a somewhat autobiographical novel about a young Chilean boy who spent his early childhood in Southern California. At age 10, Beltrán returns to Chile for what is supposed to be a summer vacation. His mother who feared her family would be disintegrated if they stayed in America decides the family will stay in Chile. Beltrán is never able to recover from this change, always feeling like an outsider.
In the novel, Beltrán, a seismologist, uses a list of fifty films to narrate his émigré childhood in California and his return to Santiago. The structure of the book feels clunky: biographical introduction, movie watched, biographical fallout.
I'm not sure what I think of the book. I never once put it down without expecting to pick it up again. I suppose that I don't like the book, but it is good.
Posted by rdreyes at February 4, 2006 11:22 PMPosted to Books