Chile (Spanish)
166
Parra, Marco Antonio de la
El año de la ballena
(The year of the whale)
Santiago de Chile [et al.] : Alfaguara, 2001. - 128 p. (Serie roja)
ISBN 956-239-162-0
Family conflict - Parents - Child - Divorce - Coming of age - First love -
Uncle – Friendship
Ismael has the impression of being shipwrecked: In the »year of the whale«,
as he calls it, everything in and around him threatens to sink. His family
breaks up. His mother is depressed, and he is estranged from his father who has
fallen in love with another woman. Ismael finds an understanding friend in Uncle
Juan, a non-conformist individualist and book-maniac, who initiates him to the
world of books. His sister helps him confront the difficulties of the family and
deal with the turmoil of growing up. With empathy and great earnestness, the
first-person narrative describes the coming of age of an alert and sensitive
adolescent, who reflects on a decisive year of his life. (14+)