From the verdant hills of Rio de Janeiro to Evita Perón’s glittering Buenos Aires, from the haven of a corner butcher shop to the halls ...
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Mar 15, 2010
Chrissie
rated it: 
Yes, I really, really liked it! I just finished. The metaphors are wonderful; they tie all the strands together. That home to this family was Montevideo, that the story took place here, was just perfect. Montevideo means - I see a mountain. But there is no mountain! Only by reading the novel will you understand. What else should I say? This book is about families and about secrets and how secrets eventually can be erased in a family. It is about how within a family, although we have common trait
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May 11, 2011
Hoosier
rated it: 
Carolina de Robertis begins her novelist career with a book about three independent women. She writes The Invisible Mountain in three sections. The first section describes the childhood and early married life of Pajarita. The second story describes the childhood and early adulthood of Eva, Pajarita's daughter. And the third story describes the childhood and early adulthood of Salome, Eva's daughter. The political climate in Uruguay and Argentina shape the paths of these three women.
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Feb 22, 2011
switterbug (Betsey)
rated it: 
In this astonishing and assured debut novel about a lineage of Uruguayan women in Montevideo, covering much of the twentieth century, de Robertis immerses the reader in electrifying and luminous prose. My skin tingled and my eyes watered; the passages melted in my mouth and dissolved on my tongue, making me buoyant, almost weightless. Pardon my gushing, but this is the most lyrical, musky, magical prose I have ever encountered in a freshman novel, and it has easily become one of my desert island
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Feb 14, 2011
Felice
rated it:
It would take me months to tell you all that I do not know about Uruguay and since we have neither the time nor the interest let's talk about a novel set in Uruguay instead. It's The Invisible Mountain by Carolina De Robertis. The Invisible Mountain is my first experience with Uruguay, fictional or otherwise, and what a nice place to start.
This novel is a multi-generational look at Uruguay (with some side trips to Argentina) across most of the 20th century through the eyes of three More...
This novel is a multi-generational look at Uruguay (with some side trips to Argentina) across most of the 20th century through the eyes of three More...
May 25, 2010
Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com
rated it:
The book starts off with a miracle. In the first day of the twentieth century a baby girl, who disappeared from a village after her mother died giving birth to her, was found on top of a tree, that little girl is named Pajarita (Little Bird) and thus the story begins.
The narrative spans 90 years or so, following the lives of Pajarita, her daughter Eva and granddaughter (Eva's daughter) Salomé and follows the women through a personal story which also mirrors the chaotic history of Ur More...
The narrative spans 90 years or so, following the lives of Pajarita, her daughter Eva and granddaughter (Eva's daughter) Salomé and follows the women through a personal story which also mirrors the chaotic history of Ur More...
May 19, 2010
Richard Bradley
rated it:
It's not really she, Carolina De Robertis, today, telling this story of The Invisible Mountain. Full of life, the story tells itself through her. Thus, however, there is no resorting to authority to determine the truth of a thing that is told, should you wonder deeply about it (which you might do, actually). Your problem is it may be as well real and/or unreal at the same time and as well true and/or untrue at the same time. That's just the nature of truth: there are always many different simult
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Apr 27, 2010
Jenni
rated it:
I randomly picked this book up on a recommendation from a friend, and I'm so glad I read it! It's pretty rare that I find a book that keeps me up reading attentively late at night, but this was definitely one of them.
This fits into the many-generations-of-strong-females-struggling-through-hard-times-in-Latin-America genre (à la Soñar en cubano or Como agua para chocolate). I've read many books like this in my studies of Spanish language and culture; however, unlike most of the others More...
This fits into the many-generations-of-strong-females-struggling-through-hard-times-in-Latin-America genre (à la Soñar en cubano or Como agua para chocolate). I've read many books like this in my studies of Spanish language and culture; however, unlike most of the others More...
Aug 12, 2009
Tara
rated it:
This is an excellent debut novel. It addresses so many different family issues in each generation. Namely three generations spanning 90 years. The book is in three parts. Part one is Pajarita, part two is her daughter Eva, and part three is Salome, Pajarita's granddaughter.
Pajarita's tale takes place in Uruguay in the early 1900s. She is a "miracle child" that disappears as a baby and suddenly reappears in a tree much later. When she becomes a young woman, she marries Igna More...
Pajarita's tale takes place in Uruguay in the early 1900s. She is a "miracle child" that disappears as a baby and suddenly reappears in a tree much later. When she becomes a young woman, she marries Igna More...
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May 13, 2009
When author Carolina de Robertis began writing as a child, her parents begged her to put their family stories on paper. Available in August, the result of family oral tradition and lots of listening and research, is her debut novel. The Invisible Mountain is as lush in character, plot and language as the South American landscape in which it is set. More than a narrative of the Firrelli’s, a Uraguayan family with Italian roots that run deep within the Venetian canals, de Robertis’s novel traces t
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Aug 07, 2009
Lauren
rated it:
The Invisible Mountain is an impressive and ambitious debut novel. It tells the story - told in poetic oral history - of three generations of women in a working class family in Uruguay. It is the story of the rise and fall of the fortunes of the three women in conjunction with the rise and fall of Uruguay.
The novel is split into three sections, named after each of the women: Pajarita, Eva, and Salome. The novel captures the voices of each of the women and each section has a diffe More...
The novel is split into three sections, named after each of the women: Pajarita, Eva, and Salome. The novel captures the voices of each of the women and each section has a diffe More...
Aug 04, 2010
James
rated it:
Article first published as Book Review: The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis on Blogcritics.
As Uruguay scythed its way through their World Cup opposition last month, it occurred to me that it’s a country I know very little about.
So, thank heavens for The Invisible Mountain.
It’s a tale of three generations of women and their encounters with pain and passion, poetry and politics.
But it's also the story of a small country making its way in More...
As Uruguay scythed its way through their World Cup opposition last month, it occurred to me that it’s a country I know very little about.
So, thank heavens for The Invisible Mountain.
It’s a tale of three generations of women and their encounters with pain and passion, poetry and politics.
But it's also the story of a small country making its way in More...
Oct 26, 2009
Joan
rated it:
I had the opportunity to visit Uruguay a couple of years ago, and remembered peering from the airplane to see the mountain in Montevideo. As the story explains, there isn't actually a mountain there at all. But I had enjoyed my visit and the rare opportunity to listen to a story in this region hooked me quickly.
The story is one of a family of 4 women (great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter) from the time of the birth of the first until the early adult hood of the last. More...
The story is one of a family of 4 women (great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter) from the time of the birth of the first until the early adult hood of the last. More...
Jan 30, 2010
karla_k
rated it:
„Die unsichtbaren Stimmen“ hat mit sehr, sehr gut gefallen. So gut, dass ich das Buch am liebsten gar nicht beiseite gelegt hätte, wenn Seminare anfingen oder aber ein Blick auf die Uhr zeigte, dass es höchste Zeit zu schlafen ist.
In diesem unheimlich ehrlichen Roman wird die Geschichte einer Familie, die Geschichte dreier Generationen von Frauen, im Uruguay des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts erzählt. Carolina de Robertis zeigt dem Leser gemeinsame, immer Bestand habende Rituale und die S More...
In diesem unheimlich ehrlichen Roman wird die Geschichte einer Familie, die Geschichte dreier Generationen von Frauen, im Uruguay des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts erzählt. Carolina de Robertis zeigt dem Leser gemeinsame, immer Bestand habende Rituale und die S More...
Apr 08, 2011
Marianne
rated it:
Part of me really loved this book beyond the rating I gave it, but the issues I had with small parts of it just won't go away.
The story centres around three generations of women in the one family and we get their story one after the other. We start with Parajita, a miracle child who meets a young Venetian gondola maker when he comes to Uruguay and quickly marries him. The two are young and in love and for a while their lives are blissful until real life invades and the spectres from More...
The story centres around three generations of women in the one family and we get their story one after the other. We start with Parajita, a miracle child who meets a young Venetian gondola maker when he comes to Uruguay and quickly marries him. The two are young and in love and for a while their lives are blissful until real life invades and the spectres from More...
Nov 16, 2009
Bob
rated it:
This novel follows the stories of 3 strong Uruguayan women (grandmother, daughter and grandaughter)through the 20th century. The personal stories are set against the backdrop of political struggle, economic crisis, the Tupamaro movement and dirty war of the 1970s. De Robertis weaves in historic details (e.g. the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Mitrione, the CIA agent who came to Uruguay to teach the army torture techniques). The last third (about the granddaughter who joins the Tupos) is hard t
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Dec 16, 2010
Elaine
rated it:
On the plane home I finished this beautifully written book by Carolina De Robertis that follows three generations of Uruguayan women through the heartaches and victories of their times. One of the main characters is a poet -- which is a pretty daunting choice for an author, because the poetry has to be as beautiful in the book as it is on her pages, and De Robertis definitely pulls this off. She also captures the terrifying dictatorship of the 70s vividly, almost unbearably so at times. It's o
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Nov 01, 2009
Mr. Brammer
rated it:
This novel should have a two-star review based on the first 250 pages, but I bumped it up a star for its strong ending. I couldn't escape the thought that I was essentially reading Marquez-lite - which isn't a fair comparison, but one that The Invisible Mountain invites. Particularly irksome is the emphasis on the poetic skills of some of the characters, but when we actually get to read some of the poetry it seems overwrought and amateurish. This is the same criticism I had of _The Song is Yo
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Oct 20, 2009
Betty
rated it:
The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis
Carolina de Robertis writes with a passion as deep and intense as the tango, the thread that holds so much of South America together. The Invisible Mountain is a lyrical narrative on the tides of life in Uruguay throughout the twentieth century. As symbolic as the traditional shared cup or gourd of mate, Ms. de Robertis has a unique talent that embraces everything within the lives of three generations of women and their families. She conv More...
Carolina de Robertis writes with a passion as deep and intense as the tango, the thread that holds so much of South America together. The Invisible Mountain is a lyrical narrative on the tides of life in Uruguay throughout the twentieth century. As symbolic as the traditional shared cup or gourd of mate, Ms. de Robertis has a unique talent that embraces everything within the lives of three generations of women and their families. She conv More...
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Aug 15, 2009
Blue Willow
rated it:
As seen from the eyes of three generations of Firielli women, this novel is an elegy to Uruguay and its sometimes turbulent 20th century history. But it is primarily the story of a family. First Pajarita, then Eva, then Salome in turn retain a strong sense of self while forging unbreakable connections with each other despite the slings and arrows in their lives. The narrative is both straightforward and lyrical, and the descriptions are treats for the senses. I loved the characters and recommend
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Dec 30, 2011
Nikos79
rated it:
I have to be honest. I wouldn't have read this book if it wouldn't be part of an offer by its publisher in my country. I picked it up as a third choice of a 3 books offer from a specific list along with "Disgrace" and "Out stealing horses". I had it a long time unread in my bookshelf and unexpectedly i liked it more than the other two. In fact i loved it.
With this book being the debut novel of De Robertis i 'm very very optimistic for this author. I think it's an More...
With this book being the debut novel of De Robertis i 'm very very optimistic for this author. I think it's an More...
Sep 18, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
This novel completely swept me away. The Invisible Mountain is really like three novels in one. It's an expansive story of three strong women, told in three parts, yet woven together. Set mostly in Uruguay, and spanning most of the 20th century, it begins with the story of Pajarita, a lost infant who mysteriously re-appears in the countryside, high in a tree, New Year’s day 1900. The small town of Tucuarembo had been known for starting centuries with some sort of miracle, no matter how peculiar.
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Jan 13, 2011
Liliana
rated it:
This novel traces a family history through the strong women who shaped it. The story winds through Italy, Uruguay, Argentina, and the United States in an epic tale of three generations.
Overall, this novel was moving and heartwrenching, with some interesting history included to help the reader understand the motivations of the characters and how the local and national events influenced their choices.
It was also quite tragic at one point, and makes you wonder how much of th More...
Overall, this novel was moving and heartwrenching, with some interesting history included to help the reader understand the motivations of the characters and how the local and national events influenced their choices.
It was also quite tragic at one point, and makes you wonder how much of th More...
Dec 10, 2011
Jill
rated it:
Invisible Mountain is a gem of a novel, grounded in actual history, with a dollop of magical realism, a splash of Dickensian coincidence, with some forbidden romance and political intrigue added to the mix.
The novel opens at the turn of the 20th century in a remote Uruguayan village, when a baby is spirited away and then reappears, a year later, unharmed in the branches of a tree. The young one is named Pajarita – translated to little bird – and the narrative, divided into three secti More...
The novel opens at the turn of the 20th century in a remote Uruguayan village, when a baby is spirited away and then reappears, a year later, unharmed in the branches of a tree. The young one is named Pajarita – translated to little bird – and the narrative, divided into three secti More...
Oct 14, 2010
Ardene
rated it:
Through the eyes of three generations of women, the novel tells the story of the family and the country of Uruguay during the 20th century. It begins with the birth of Pajarita (bird) at the turn of the century and follows her migration to the city as well as her economic and marital struggles.
Her daughter Eva is a poet by nature. Encouraged by her father to leave school at age 10 to work in a store belonging to a friend of the family, Eva is unable to complain to her parents of her se More...
Her daughter Eva is a poet by nature. Encouraged by her father to leave school at age 10 to work in a store belonging to a friend of the family, Eva is unable to complain to her parents of her se More...
Nov 10, 2009
Sandy
rated it:
Having read a few other reviews, I expected to like this book. I was not prepared for the depth and power of its impact. This beautifully written tale reminds me of early books by Isabel Allende. It's easily read and understood, setting it apart from some literary fiction. Yet the prose is so gorgeous that it's like reading music. Every page is loaded with unexpected and scintillating analogies and descriptions. The characters ARE unforgettable, men and women of legends. I heartily recommend thi
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Feb 01, 2011
Marvin
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This is, in many ways a book typical of female authors writing about Latin America. Set mostly in Uruguay (with a side trip of a few years in Argentina during the Peron rule), it follows three generations of women from the first day of the twentieth century until New Year's Day 1990, closely linking the personal and the political. What sets this apart (apart from the lesser-known country in which it's set) is the exquisite writing. An example: After one of the characters returns home after many
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Oct 20, 2009
Bridget
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This book is one of those multigenerational sagas, but told about three of the women of the Firielli family of Uruguay. Beginning with Pajarita, a country girl who married an Italian immigrant and moved to Montevideo when it was still a small town; to Eva, her daughter who from an early age knew what she didn't want in life; and finally to Salome, Eva's daughter, whose life experiences go through the social revolution in the country of the 1970s. Besides the family's story, you learn a lot abo
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Jan 31, 2010
Jill
rated it:
There are elements of this that remind me of Eva Luna or a book by Julia Alvarez... There is something about the voice of women from this part of the world that mixes rebellion and passion and repression.
I would recommend it because the reader is swirled away, a million miles, 100 years. There are parts that are more predictable than I'd like, but they are overcome by how the author pulls each of the women's voices into a unique range.
The best book in this format is More...
I would recommend it because the reader is swirled away, a million miles, 100 years. There are parts that are more predictable than I'd like, but they are overcome by how the author pulls each of the women's voices into a unique range.
The best book in this format is More...
Nov 20, 2009
Beth
rated it:
The story follows a family through its women and their historical contex during 3 generations in Montevideo and Buenos Aires from a beginning miracle of Pajarita appearing in a tree to Eva who strive to be a poet instead of going to college as her parents wish and Salome who is attractedto dangerous political rebellion. Each woman pushes for her own choices of independence in life. Reading it, one can truly imagine living through each progressive segment of the 20th Century in South America.
Apr 07, 2011
Hege
rated it:
LOVED IT!
It's difficult to find the right words when you are trying to capture the essence of this story.
But as someone else said in another review:
"Magical language–a fantastic tale. A gorgeous story, full of color and light, a great human story, told beautifully. Told as if with the turn of every page there will always be some new wonderful story of person and place."
I love books with this kind of warmth. Beautiful names. Pajarita, Montevideo, Salo More...
It's difficult to find the right words when you are trying to capture the essence of this story.
But as someone else said in another review:
"Magical language–a fantastic tale. A gorgeous story, full of color and light, a great human story, told beautifully. Told as if with the turn of every page there will always be some new wonderful story of person and place."
I love books with this kind of warmth. Beautiful names. Pajarita, Montevideo, Salo More...
