(Book #30) Susan hosted for the first time and was a great hit! She served a beef roulade, a wonderful rice dish and a salad. I waited too long to record the events of the evening and I can’t remember what was served for dessert but I remember wanting a second helping, so I’m just going to leave it at that.
It seemed that everyone liked the book but we agreed it is unusual to have both an omniscient narrator as well as first person narration by Esteban, the least likable character in the book. We talked about how the political parts of the book did not capture our interest as much as the spiritual aspects, though some of us were not particularly fond of the magical realism. We thought it was fun to think of the house in its heyday with all of its comings and goings even without the spirits.
Favorite Quotes:
They were dressed in black, silent, and dry-eyed, as befits the norms of sadness in a country accustomed to the dignity of grief.
He hoped that none of his descendants would get mixed up in politics, which was a trade for butchers and bandits.
My son, the Holy Church is on the right, but Jesus Christ was always on the left.