196 Books: Colombia

Delirium by Laura Restrepo

Here is Colombia, in South America:

And here's your about the book:
In this remarkably nuanced novel, both a gripping detective story and a passionate, devastating tale of eros and insanity in Colombia, internationally acclaimed author Laura Restrepo delves into the minds of four characters. There’s Agustina, a beautiful woman from an upper-class family who is caught in the throes of madness; her husband Aguilar, a man passionately in love with his wife and determined to rescue her from insanity; Agustina’s former lover Midas, a drug-trafficker and money-launderer; and Nicolás, Agustina’s grandfather. Through the blend of these distinct voices, Restrepo creates a searing portrait of a society battered by war and corruption, as well as an intimate look at the daily lives of people struggling to stay sane in an unstable reality.

Reading through this description again, I would not say I was given a searing portrait of a society battered by war and corruption. Why do book descriptions always make it much more grandiose than it is? That's my slight gripe. But I really liked this book, and it was intriguing enough to make me forget about other stuff going on in my life. In fact, it got me through Memorial Weekend with the in-laws. 

HERE BE SPOILERS PROBABLY

So the story really centers around Agustina and her just...going kinda crazy. Aguilar and Midas's parts of the story still revolve around Agustina, and Nicolas is her grandfather who was also crazy. There weren't chapters or anything, just snippets where one part of the story would be narrated by one or the other of them, and then the snippet would be up and another would begin. It did get a little frustrating at times because you could only get a bit of information at a time, but I guess maybe that kept it more exciting. 

The whole time I was trying to figure out what was going on with Agustina and why she went a little insane; if there was a family history of mental problems or there was some traumatic event and she had a psychotic break. The grandfather did have some problems, and his kind of seemed like dementia, but hers were kind of inexplicable. It almost seemed like a skewed version of bipolar disorder, but from someone who doesn't know a whole lot about the disorder. So she snaps, gets belligerent, aggressive, and despondent at times...and then stops after a while. That's it. There's no explanation for why it began or why it ended. And maybe there are some disorders where this happens, but it just seemed like kind of an exaggerated or skewed version of a mental health issue. 

Ok, it seems like I'm bitching about the book and didn't like it. I did, it was interesting and exciting even if I didn't get all the answers. And, like I said, it took me out of my world and put me in this crazy little mystery. Which I will always welcome.