The Time of the Doves by Merce Rodoreda

The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In his introduction, David Rosethal writes, "In a sense 'The Time of the Doves' is the story of most Spaniards during the 1930s and 1940s. But more profoudly, it explores what it feels like to be an ordinary woman in a Mediterranean country. Rodoreda uses a stream-of-consciousness technique to place us directly inside Natalia's sensibility, yet her technique is so subtle that we are aware only of the flow of Natalia's feelings." Of course, I read the introduction AFTER I read the book. It gave me an "ah ha!" moment. I really felt as though I was inside Natalia's brain feeling what she was feeling. The story is just a little story, but it moves quickly and things happen all the time that move the story along. They aren't heroic things, just ordinary everyday things, but they seem so significant to Natalia and to me as I read them. I loved this book. The writing was such that I could hear the doves and feel the sunshine. It was superb.




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