Book Review : Old Rosa


Book Review


Title: Old Rosa
Author: Reinaldo Arenas
Genre: Fiction/Translation (Spanish)

Old Rosa is a powerful novella which is divided into 2 stories revolving around the same character. 

The first story titled Old Rosa chronicles the life of Rosa, her marriage, family life and the hardships that she endures in her life at the farm. It becomes even more difficult when her eldest son joins the Castro's rebels and when she discovers her youngest son to be a homosexual. It also talks about the advent of Cuban revolution and the impact that it had on farmers. 

The second story titled The Brightest Star chronicles the life of Rosa's youngest son in a Castro Camp for homosexuals. He is subjected to immense torture and brutal labour. He manages to find solace through to express his fantastical thoughts. He manages to escape into another world which consists of magnificent castles, beautiful gardens and recurring images of his mother Old Rosa.  

The writing style in both the stories have a continuous flow without any structure or paragraphs. In the first story, there are shorter sentences with full stops and reflects the dominant voice of the character Rosa. She is not always a likeable character with her staunch beliefs and harsh stance towards her children. Yet one can't help but empathise at times with her emotional attachment towards her farm. 

In the second story, the writing style is like a continuous chain of thoughts separated by a comma. There is no full stop or paragraphs which makes it exhausting for the reader. It gives them the feeling of living inside the character's head who appears clearly shattered and his thoughts are all over the place. One aspect that strikes a chord is his ability to find an outlet through writing. 

Themes of family, pain and loss are touched upon here. Old Rosa is a read that is one of a kind. It envelops your mind like the flames of the fire and dissolves into your system like ash. Such is the writing-powerful, disturbing and evocative. 



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