As I read this book, I kept wondering why everyone was so horrible. Every character has some sort of fault, some way worse than others. The revelation that Alba is the one who is supposed to have written all of this clears it up a little. She began writing this on the suggestion of her grandmother: “[Clara] suggested that [Alba] write a testimony that might one day call attention to the terrible secret she was living through, so that the world would know about this horror that was taking place parallel to the peaceful existence of those who did not want to know” (460). This book, though a work of fiction, is meant to be a testament to the worst parts of life that people don’t want to see.
Allende is right in thinking that people don’t want to look at the ugly parts of life. People tend to want to live their lives in the realm of filtered social media posts. Nobody really wants to see the harsh reality. Like Esteban Trueba, we want to pretend that hunger and poverty don’t really exist. But, as Christians, we are called to not only acknowledge the existence of these and other horrible things but to work against those things. Of course, this is much easier said than done. It makes us wonder what they will actually do about these unpleasant realities.
P.S. I commented on Leanne’s and Rebecca’s posts.
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