(The history of the milk or The milk's history)
Author: Monica Ojeda
Genre: Poetry, Contemporary, Horror,
Publication date: December 1, 2019
Book Description: In Historia de la leche Mónica Ojeda takes up a myth from the biblical tradition – Cain, Abel and their fratricidal dispute for the love of their father – and, in the vein of A Night with Hamlet by Vladimir Holan or Antígona González by Sara Uribe, she she rewrites from the present, investigating, as she did in her novel Mandíbula, the strange violence of female and family relationships. To house her in her own bones and recognize everything foreign that inhabits her, the poetic voice kills Mabel, her sister, establishing a dialogue with her, with her mother and with her father, while she faces, almost in a trance, what she remains: the guilt, the memory that hurts, the terrible maternal silence, the frighteningly open space between the mother and the surviving daughter.
Thoughts:
This is dark, this is disturbing, and if you are not in the right mindset it's going to mess you up.
I read a book by the author a few days ago and I was deeply disturbed by it apparently I did not learn my lesson because I picked up this one too.
This reimagining of a biblical myth of Abel and Cain. I can see this is a masterpiece, we get to dive into such dark places. Ojeda has turned the story of Cain into something even more macabre, such as the madness of motherhood and its ravages, femininity, and the rivalry between sisters united by the thread of death.
We dive into the imagination of a woman who drives away her sorrows and fears through the meaning she sees in her sister's death. Through desires, fears, and interpretations in verse, Ojeda frames each word to capture imagery that speaks to us in whispers to tell us that death has always been there and sometimes it shelters you. It sends shivers down your spine and it's not inspiring, it does not feel comfortable. A collection of poems that moves you and allows you to reflect on each poem, each word.
I put this book down several times, since the first few poems, and then I picked it up again only to put it down once more a few minutes later. It took me way longer than what a poetry collection of this page count should simply because I had to give myself breaks.
This is not a bad book, I think the theme is just like that, it explores deep and tried topics but their nature is like that, this will not leave you feeling bubbly and joyful, not at all.
I gave this a
For my personal enjoyment or alignment to my tastes. But considering that it completely nailed its purpose of bringing to light the things we as a society refuse to see, well that was very well down. In that aspect, I would give it a 3 stars. It's just not curated for the mass public. It would have to be for people who are already ok with reading dark themes. Or maybe I'm just squeamish and it's only a me problem.
This was used for the following challenges:
Around the world- Ecuador
Poetry
Social criticism: Feminist, misogyny, discrimination against women, you know the drift.
Comments