The Hacienda: A Memoir

Midway through, the book started to take shape and develop into a very focused memoir. I think the break point was the episode with the green boy. After that, the flow changed and I found myself flipping pages anxiously, rushing to learn more and more. I was very taken by the letters to her mother interspersed here and there. They give the whole book a human and tender touch. I was less impressed by her poems, though. Some of her Spanish might have rusted out, or her translations lost some accuracy, like La Noche Buena (it is not Christmas, it is Christmas' Eve). But much of Lisa's writing is brilliant, like the story of the dying eaglet. That was beautiful, skilled writing, awesome. I also liked her very subtle references to physical abuse in hands of her husband. She describes these beatings in a way that could be described as elegant, which makes them even more horrific. I very much enjoyed the farming bits, the sheep, the avocado and sugar cane stories. I also enjoyed her transformation from a starry-eyed teenager into a woman assuming full responsibility for everybody and everything: her family, her farm, and the welfare of hundreds of people in it. I wouldn't go as far as describing her as a "powerful matriarch", like the book jacket does, but she certainly obtained a power that was more than anything emanating from herself.

I was tremendously disappointed with the ending, though. Throughout the book there are many references to her seven years in the hacienda, so you know that at some point she leaves. The end was cliff-like: there is some elaboration to the circumstances that pushed her departure, and some of the obstacles she was facing. And then, that's it. She left. I was hoping for an epilogue, a mention of what happened to her, her daughter, her husband, la gente, no matter how brief. I was left yearning to know more, to wrap it up, because just by physically removing yourself from a place, you just don't automatically close that chapter of your life.

In any case, this book is very much worth your while. Her vision and descriptions of all people, animals, plants and things were excellent and very poignant, even when referring to a simple object.