The Invisible Mountain: Summary and book reviews of The Invisible Mountain by Carolina De Robertis, plus links to an excerpt from The Invisible Mountain and a biography of Carolina De Robertis.
The Invisible Mountain
by Carolina De Robertis
Hardcover: Aug 2009,
384 pages.
Paperback: Aug 2010,
448 pages.
On the first day of the century, a small town gathers to witness a miracle and unravel its portents: the mysterious reappearance of a lost infant, Pajarita. Later, as a young woman in the capital city—Montevideo, brimming with growth and promise—Pajarita begins a lineage of independent women. Her daughter Eva, intent on becoming a poet, overcomes an early, shattering betrayal to embark on a most unconventional path toward personal and artistic fulfillment. And Eva’s daughter Salomé, awakening to both her sensuality and political convictions amidst the violent turmoil of the late 1960s, finds herself dangerously attracted to a cadre of urban guerilla rebels.
From Perón's glittering Buenos Aires to the rustic hills of Rio de Janeiro, from the haven of a Montevideo butchershop to U.S. embassy halls, The Invisible Mountain celebrates a nation’s spirit, the will to survive in the most desperate of circumstances, and the fierce and complex connections between mother and daughter.
BOOK REVIEWS
BookBrowse The Invisible Mountain, set in Uruguay, is an incisive examination of some of life’s trickier dilemmas, including when to place family at the forefront, and when to honor your own ideals even at the expense of others. The novel is also an enchanting new entry in the realm of contemporary Latin American literature. De Robertis brings Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, to life in scene after scene; considering the scope and depth of this little-known gem on the banks of the Río de la Plata, it should come as no surprise to learn the work was eight years in the making. It’s been well-worth the wait. (Reviewed by Karen Rigby). Full Review (968 words).
Media Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Enchanting, funny and heartbreaking…Beautifully written yet deliberate in its storytelling...an extraordinary first effort whose epic scope and deft handling reverberate with the deep pull of ancestry, the powerful influence of one's country and the sacrifices of reinvention."
Booklist
Starred Review. De Robertis is a skilled storyteller, but it is her use of language – from the precision of poetry to the sensuality of sex – that makes this literary debut so exceptional.
Kirkus Reviews
Beautifully wrought…Miracles, poetry, and guerrilla fighters march through the twentieth century in De Robertis's winning debut…Dense and lush, filled with lyrical storytelling.
The San Francisco Chronicle
[T]he kind of novel you stay up late to finish and lie awake thinking about. It is breathless, full of tenderness; despite its grim political realities, a faint, fairy-tale quality lights it... On occasion its lavishness runneth over; Events dovetail a little too conveniently; emotions (and prose) grow so frantically sweeping as to feel strained.
The Daily Beast
The brainiest dynastic novel in years. A high-end story full of sex, politics and family.
Elle
Carolina De Robertis’ incantatory debut novel... is both an homage to and a reckoning with Uruguay... this visionary book beautifully, bravely breaks open all the old secrets.
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(968 words).
The San Francisco Chronicle
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