It did not get any better! - Clabo

I thought that when Alba was introduced into the story that things were possibly going to turn out more positively, but once again I was wrong. First off, I definitely did not like how Esteban Garcia had an episode with Alba just like his grandfather did when he lost Rose. The only good men in this story that were main characters in my opinion were Jaime and Miguel. It just seems as if Alba was born into an awful period of time where all she did was suffer. Her grandmother dies, then she gets raped, and then more raped. This last section was just painful to read in my opinion. The only reason I wanted to keep reading was so that I could see if it turned out well, but it didn't. It just ends making me wonder who the father of Alba's kid is.

Was anyone else as traumatized by this ending? Any similar thoughts?

P.S. I commented on Drew's and Leanne's posts.

Comments

Addison Zanda said…
I completely agree. The way Alba came into the book had to have been at the worst time. She suffered too much for things she didn't do and provided so much strength in the end. I hate how crude the book was throughout the entirety of it too.
Hailey Morgan said…
I definitely thought that Alba deserved better! But then again, most all of the women in the novel were treated unfairly at one point or another. Each one was faced with tragedy and cruelty, most likely hoping that the cycle would eventually end. But Allende shows us through her continued writing, that things never changed or got any better.
Cade Wood said…
I am in the same boat you are, man. I was hoping this would get better, but all they got was worse. The Alba did come into play here at probably the least desirable time. I felt bad for her situation, but at the same time, like Hailey said, most of the women were treated unfairly. Still, her situation stuck out to me the most.
Luke Killam said…
This was way too much. I felt sick to the stomach many times, not just during this, but throughout the course of the novel. I know most of the numerical instances of certain events happening are supposed to deepen the "spiritualist" meaning of the book, but it was definitely hard to navigate through the reading of said passages.
Rachael Gregson said…
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Rachael Gregson said…
Same here! I had high hopes for Alba too and figured that if Isabel was going to take a turn for the positive, it would be during Alba's narration. But that just wasn't so. I guess Isabel wanted more of a real ending than a happy ending. However, I will say that Alba's narration was better than the other people's.