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martydah's review
4.0
Laura Restropo was inspired by the photograph of an unknown woman, reproduced on the book's cover, to write this imagined account of her life. The skinny girl, who becomes the infamously beautiful Sayanora, shows up on the doorstep of the motherly madam Todos los Santos, determined to make her living serving the men from the local oil fields. What is known of her life before and after her time at the bordello La Catunga is revealed piece by piece through 'interviews' with those who knew her best.
Each chapter in this intriguing novel reads like a short story, some reaching back to Sayonara's childhood, some illustrating the lives of Sacremento and Payanes, two local oil workers who will touch her life in radically different ways, while others dip into the lives of her fellow prostitutes. The harsh reality of life in the Colombian jungle is given a dark, lyrical quality by Restropo's eloquent prose.
With all the twists and turns in the narrative from chapter to chapter, the story can be a bit difficult to follow. This is not a quick read or a feel-good story - it is more of an over experience. In the end, it's well worth the effort.
Each chapter in this intriguing novel reads like a short story, some reaching back to Sayonara's childhood, some illustrating the lives of Sacremento and Payanes, two local oil workers who will touch her life in radically different ways, while others dip into the lives of her fellow prostitutes. The harsh reality of life in the Colombian jungle is given a dark, lyrical quality by Restropo's eloquent prose.
With all the twists and turns in the narrative from chapter to chapter, the story can be a bit difficult to follow. This is not a quick read or a feel-good story - it is more of an over experience. In the end, it's well worth the effort.
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