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El Amante Turco
In this memoir, we become witness to the transformation of the little Puerto Rican girl who emigrated to New York with her single mother and ten siblings. Esmeralda Santiago finally breaks out of a monumental struggle with her powerful mother, only to come under the thrall of "the Turk" and discover that romantic passion, too, can become a prison. Esmeralda's jou...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
June 30th 2007
by Punto De Lectura
(first published 2004)
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Well written and evocative, and especially gripping towards the end when the author starts to break away from her controlling partner and begins to make a life for herself. I know this is just one volume in the series of memoirs that Santiago is writing, but some of the loose ends in the narrative drove me nuts. For instance, her beloved cousin disappears and "I would not hear from her again until 25 years later." but the book ends before those 25 years have passed, so the reader is ne...more
No me gustó. Aburrido.
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How come our generation does not ask for "la bendicion"? I still hear my mother asking for it from my grandfather and her uncles.
I loved this book, although at times I wanted to scream at her for staying with Ulvi and putting up with his shit for so long. But, I can also understand her situation. She is who she is because of what she has been through. I can identify with that. Great story--I love the spanish throughout the novel and references to our culture. I miss P.R.
I loved this book, although at times I wanted to scream at her for staying with Ulvi and putting up with his shit for so long. But, I can also understand her situation. She is who she is because of what she has been through. I can identify with that. Great story--I love the spanish throughout the novel and references to our culture. I miss P.R.
Doreen
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
women, young and old who have ever been with the WRONG guy for TOO long
Recommended to Doreen by:
Diane, of course!
I'm so glad I read this book. It's a continuation of, "Almost a Woman" about life for the next six years with Ulvi. Her life with the mysterious, chauvinistic Ulvi takes her across the country. She lands in Lubbock, TX, Syracuse, NY, and Boston, MA. Her writing remains honest and simple to read. It's amazing to witness her growth and transformation from Ulvi's 'Chiquita', to her own, true Esmeralda. While, "Almost a Woman" was a coming-of-age novel, this one can be labe...more
Interesting continuation of Almost a Woman. While the book was at times difficult to read because it was painful watching Esmeralda continue to stay in a dysfunctional, abusive relationship, it was intriguing to witness her journey to discover herself.
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This book is a good read, a quick read about a Latina who overcomes lack of paternal support, lack of positive expectations on the part of her family and an unpromising relationship to achieve her goals.
A beautiful memoir that proves that even smart, independent women can be caught in a unhealthy relationship. Santiago's tale is very candid and touched me deeply. I loved the depiction of Puerto Rican culture, our rich heritage, and how difficult it must have been and is for the many Puerto Ricans who come to mainland looking for a better / different life. Many times they can assimilate, sometimes they can't and return to the island, and other times they are suspended in a world somewhere in ...more
Such a good book! The second of three of her life's chronology. She's working on her third. Can't wait!
Riveting! A real page turner. Brings back a lot of memories. Brought me closer to my culture, roots, and heritage.
Another powerful memoir. This time it's a adult Esmeralda and the man who changes her life.
Santiago digs deeply into memoir and male-female relationships from her youth.
This was okay. Was not what I was used to from her previous books.
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK SANTIAGO HAS WRITTEN !!!
Another one of her great books!!!
Un libro grandioso
Fascinating memoir
Esmeralda Santiago's third installment in her series of memoirs. Not as beautiful as "When I Was Puerto Rican" but a good story nonetheless. It gave me a new insight into abusive relationships. Even when the abuse is not the constant and severe physical abuse that we hear about on the news it still takes its toll. In this book Esmeralda Santiago is able to break free from her low expectations of herself to go on to become the successful and creative author we all know and love.
The Turkish Lover is Santiago's 3rd memoir and it picks up where Almost a Woman left off. In this memoir, Santiago tells of her experiences of leaving the shelter of her mother's home and moving away with her older Turkish lover. Her life with her Turkish lover is full of loneliness and estrangement. He takes total control of her life and tries to keep her as the innocent young girl that he first met.
I didn't enjoy this memoir quite as much as I liked her first two.
I didn't enjoy this memoir quite as much as I liked her first two.
After re-reading her memoir, When I Was Puerto Rican, I was looking forward to the The Turkish Lover. It is a characteristically well-written narrative, but the story fell flat. I felt like I spent most of the book waiting for her to rid herself of that Turkish lover. Frustratingly, the smart and precocious child/adolescent in When I Was Puerto Rican is somehow to a needy young woman in a codependent relationship. I expected something else from Santiago.
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Interesting read. I've had this book for years and just recently decided to read it. Esmerelda Santigo is the Latin version of Maya Angelo in the sense that she has done so much in her life, that she could quite honestly put out a memoir every year and still have fresh stuff to talk about. I think this book speaks to those of us who remember life before they found their voice and for those in search if their voice.
I think this book should be read by every teenager (male and female!) to give them insight into dysfunctional relationships & maybe it will save them some heartache, or prevent them from being an abuser themselves.
Though the author, Esmeralda Santiago, has led an interesting life, and overcome many struggles in her life, I didn't feel her story was compelling enough to recommend this book. Her story is small and personal, and she writes in a way that keeps one interested enough to keep reading, but it didn't have any resonance with me.
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i was glad to find out what happened w/ ES in this last book of her memoir trilogy...but disappointed in the book itself. maybe it was just b/c, as the title indicates, so much of it went on and on about her turkish lover, but i had hoped for so much more after the first 2, which i loved.
The third in her series of memoirs. Interesting and easy to read although I got pretty sick of her dysfunctional relationship with Ulvi. I felt like it ended rather abruptly, but then again I guess this gives her room for another installment of her life in print.
I really enjoyed the first memoir in this trilogy. In this installment the author gets into, and subsequently out of, a bad relationship. It's not a terribly unique situation and not described very compellingly, so it's my least favorite of the three.
i am almost finished with this book. i have really enjoyed it. it illustrates a lot about some dynamics between men and women, even outside of the era and culture(s) in the book and that play out in more subtle ways in the post-modern era.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Liberación amorosa | 1 | 4 | Apr 22, 2008 12:03pm |
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Esmeralda Santiago (born 1948 in San Juan, Puerto Rico). Is a renowned Puerto Rican author In 1961, she came to the United States when she was thirteen years old, the eldest in a family that would eventually include eleven children. Ms. Santiago attended New York City's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in drama and dance. After eight years of part-time study at community colleges, sh...more
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“Another train will come. Why rush? Why worry? Why go crazy? Another train will come. And sure enough, another train going my way was pulling into the station. My bad mood evaporated. I entered the car smiling, certain that there would be more missed trains in my life, more closed doors in my face, but there would always be another train rumbling down the tracks in my direction.”
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“The night before I left my mother, I wrote a letter. ”
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