[.uk] Maldito amor y otros cuentos (ISBN 0375700633)

a cut above the rest:
Rosario Ferré's writing lends a legitimate and poignant voice to the issues of colonialism and modern day imperialism. A narrative exploration of such issues within the context of the author's native Puerto Rico, Maldito Amor illustrates the complexity of the post-colonial reality with decidedly exquisite prose. Not only is the novel informative and thematically rich, it carries great stylistic import as it manipulates literary aesthetics to problematize the dilemmas of the colonized conditon. Heavily grounded in historical and philosophical debates surrounding these issues, Maldito Amor will prove especially worthwhile to the informed reader. For the billingual, the oeuvre acquires new meaning when it is read side by side with Sweet Diamond Dust (the version of it translated by the author herself). This book should actually be seen as half of the text woven between Maldito Amor and its English version. Also recommended: The House on the Lagoon.

Ponceña & Puertoriqueña:
Like all her other books, though fictional, the stories ooze with hints of Puerto Rican history and regionalisms. She also paints a very realistic view of the class differences. The language is so rich with old mostly forgotten slang and typical expressions of the times. She is very critical of her father though. What really makes her stand out as a writer is that one does not need to know much about Puerto Rico to be absorbed.

Ferre and her expression of Puerto Rican society:
This book is deemed to be very forward concerning issues in Puerto Rico. Ferre is very informative about social issues and especially womens' issues. She narrates her own experiences along with superficial societal issues that is counting about. She higly counts about the problems in her native Puerto rico and states about how these problems can be resolved. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in cultural and societal issues. Anyone who is also interested in womens' studies and issues should look into this book as well. I give it more than 5 stars. She is an author who speaks out about society and social ills.