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Lädt ... Normal Miguel (2010)von Erik Orrantia
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Miguel Hernández is a teacher who has left Mexico City to complete a one year student internship in the rural hills of Puebla. He came to the school intending to focus on his teaching and his students but quickly learns that it is impossible to keep his private and professional lives separate-particularly as his experience turns into a voyage of self-discovery. His students, the Directora of the school, the baker, and other people from the town all contribute to his growing awareness. But most important is Ruben, the owner of the candy store who progresses from merchant to friend to lover. He will be the man who has the most effect on Miguel-and who, in turn, is transformed by the impact of Miguel on his own life. This is a lyrical story, a winner for the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance, brings to life the countryside of rural Mexico, with its grinding poverty but care of the people for their native land; expressing prejudice and hate but at the same time affirming the power of love and acceptance in overcoming obstacles. As a slice of life in the year of Miguel, Normal Miguel will certainly capture the hearts and imaginations of those who join him on his journey in the pages of the book. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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In the big city being gay is something dirty and forbidden, it’s abnormal, and Miguel wants with all his heart to be normal. In the little community where he arrives, being gay is a sin, sure, but in a way, being in the open, it’s not possible to hide anything in that situation, makes it more “normal”, more ordinary, and a normal life with his very normal boyfriend, having a very normal relationship, is possible. Ad Absurdum, for once, it’s the impossibility to be anonymous that makes possible for Miguel to be happy; in the big city he had the chance to hide, and in hiding he had no chance to find happiness; in the small town, he has not place where to hide, and he is forced to come out. He is indeed lucky, since he is in a situation where it’s possible to cohabitate, and despite some threats, he will be always the teacher from the town, a somewhat privileged role, and some sort of protection.
There was a out of time feeling in the story, if not for some hints of modernity (like Christina Aguilera), the novel could have been well be set in the ’50 of the XX century. There are no cars, no modern sounds to overcome the voice of nature; Ruben, Miguel’s boyfriend, moves on a horse, and he still bakes candies from scratch. The dangers for the people, especially for the children at the school, are all from nature, not from modernity. Even if Miguel sometime refers to music, I had not heard television or radio sounds. What instead was quite palpable was the hot and cold of the weather, the feeling of the rain on the skin when Miguel takes a walk under it. You sometime felt even what the author didn’t describe, like the sweat or the smell of it.
Miguel is not a strong man, he is not a hero; on the contrary he is sometime weak, and he has for sure a lot of self-esteem issues, probably a baggage from his youth and the love/hate relationship with his mother. Often Miguel tries unconsciously to find a way to punish himself, like with his abusive relationship with the Captain, or when he almost manages to destroy his relationship with Ruben having an affair with Tomas; it’s clearly a punishment since both times he doesn’t find pleasure in those acts, they are degrading, and Miguel is nothing more than an object for those men. It will be a long way for Miguel to admit that he is not to be punished for being gay, that he can enjoy his love with Ruben, that he is normal even if he is not ordinary.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979777399/?tag=elimyrevandra-20