Play Audiobook Sample
Perla Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.02) - 404 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
A coming-of-age story, based on a recent shocking chapter of Argentine history, about a young woman who makes a devastating discovery about her origins with the help of an enigmatic houseguest. Perla Correa grew up a privileged only child in Buenos Aires, with a cold, polished mother and a straitlaced naval officer father, whose profession she learned early on not to disclose in a country still reeling from the abuses perpetrated by the deposed military dictatorship. Perla understands that her parents were on the wrong side of the conflict, but her love for her papá is unconditional. But when Perla is startled by an uninvited visitor, she begins a journey that will force her to confront the unease she has suppressed all her life, and to make a wrenching decision about who she is, and who she will become.
Download and start listening now!
"This book really took me by surprise. I am someone who really doesn't care for magical realism and this book contains an element of it. But somehow, in this novel it really worked. I actually think the story would not have been as compelling had it been told in a more "literal" style. I was riveted by Perla's search for truth in exploring her family's role in Argentina's deposed military dictatorship. A great story about truth, identity and family. 4 stars - I REALLY LIKED IT."
— Pam (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“This is one of those books that couldn’t be timelier, more beautiful, or more wrenching…De Robertis is an extraordinarily courageous writer who only gets better with every book.”
— Junot Díaz, acclaimed New York Times bestselling author -
“Mesmerizing…A moving, poetic novel about the costs of revolution and the evolutionary process that is identity.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“Haunting…A sensitive exploration of love, loyalty, and hope in the wake of atrocity.”
— New Yorker -
“De Robertis holds the reader’s attention with her entrancingly rhythmic and pulsating prose…[Her] voice is distinctive and her novel vivid and memorable.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A gripping journey that’s as heart-wrenching as it is healing; a reminder that the Disappeared must not be forgotten…Both the story and prose flow like a glistening Rio de la Plata…De Robertis’ writing…from beginning to end hypnotizes with poetic, crushing beauty.”
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune -
“De Robertis brings the best of two cultures to bear in her work, melding the Latin literary tradition of magical realism with a thoroughly modern, politically charged North American sensibility…[Her] extraordinary gift makes this brave, important book an object of beauty.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“Impressive…Bold…In an artful blend of beauty and horror, De Robertis has made the disappeared visible once again. With that, she has done them—and us—a great service.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“This ambitious narrative…is propulsive and emotionally gripping…culminating in a wrenching catharsis about rebirth and healing.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“De Robertis skillfully weaves a lyrical voice around her characters that treats victims, perpetrators, and bystanders with the same care and honesty. The result is a powerfully humanizing effort that examines a nation struggling with a very dark, recent past…Highly recommended for all fiction enthusiasts.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“Lyrically combining into reality both the fantastic and the horrific, De Robertis weaves a beautiful tale about birth, rebirth, and the responsibility of inheritance from complex, startling history.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“An elegantly written and affecting meditation on life in the wake of atrocity.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Carolina De Robertis is a new voice for Latin America, following in the footsteps of Isabel Allende, and dare I say it, Gabriel García Márquez, among others.”
— Washington Independent Review of Books
Awards
-
A 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book for Fiction
Perla Listener Reviews
-
" I could have done without the wet/water being, but generally grew to really enjoy this book. Until now, I knew nothing of the Dirty War, and the Disappeared. This book does for me what I look for in reading...spurring me on to learn more about what I know not. "
— Donna, 1/26/2014 -
" I am not sure where the heck this book was going..read about a 1/4 of it and said..whatis going in way too many times to continue.... "
— Karen, 1/7/2014 -
" This was a very different and intriguing book. I have friends who were in Argentina during the time this novel takes place and that is what sparked my interest. It was a quick read but sometimes confusing since you are not sure if the main character is dreaming or not. "
— Patrizia, 1/6/2014 -
" I made it about 15 pages in and cast this aside. The language was lovely, but confusing. So, somehow a young woman wakes up to find a sopping wet man, real or not, I was unclear, on her carpet in the middle of the night. Instead of freaking out and calling the cops, she decides to offer him food and water and let him stay. Really? I had to actually turn back to the front flap to see if there were any clues as to what was happening. Not a good sign. While this book showed promise, and I enjoyed her previous work "The Invisible Mountain" I could find no redeeming value in going further with Perla. "
— Mary, 12/13/2013 -
" What can I say, this book was disturbing but interesting. I learned something new and couldn't put the book down. "
— Becky, 12/1/2013 -
" Good, but expected better after Invisible Mountain "
— Hippyboi, 11/29/2013 -
" This was a difficult book to read because of the painful subject matter. It's a testament to her writing though that you feel every ounce of Perla's pain, confusion, and shame. Very beautifully written. "
— Kerry, 11/25/2013 -
" Just love Robertis's command over the language and the way she articulates the inner workings of the mind. "
— Pari, 11/9/2013 -
" A wonderfully engaging book. It's slow to start, but the writing is exquisite. This is a time in history that hasn't been explored in novels too often. Perla makes you feel the emotional devastation of Argentina's Dirty War. "
— Doris, 10/7/2013 -
" I really loved this book. The magical realism was a brilliant convention to tell a heart wrenching story. Some passages were very graphics and difficult to read, but an important story that needs to be told and remembered. I was weeping in the final chapter. "
— Karen, 9/28/2013 -
" It was very difficult to get imto but about halfway through I did not want to put it down. "
— Diane, 12/24/2012 -
" I cried at the end of the book! This is such a wonderful novel. The metaphors are awesome. The way De Robertis weaves two separate yet connected stories is spectacular. I highly recommend this novel! "
— Marlena, 11/2/2012 -
" LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! Rec it to anyone who would listen! Its about a girl/woman during the time of the disappeared in Argentina, an unusual house guest, and finding out about her past. Also kinda magical realism... "
— Ktschreck, 8/11/2012
About Carolina De Robertis
Carolina de Robertis is the author of five novels, including Cantoras, winner of a Stonewall Book Award and a Reading Women Award and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and a Lambda Literary Award; it was also selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and she has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Italy’s Rhegium Julii Prize, and numerous other honors. An author of Uruguayan origins, she teaches at San Francisco State University.