READER: Patricia Figueroa
Entra en mi vida (Destino, 2012) is a novel by Clara Sanchéz, a writer born in Guadalajara, Spain, and the recipient of two prestigious Spanish literary awards – Premio Alfaguara de Novela in 2000 and the Premio Nadal de Novela in 2010. Her work has been translated in fifteen countries. Clara Sánchez is also known for her collaboration in the Spanish television program about film Qué grande es el cine.
That said, the novel provides good entertainment value around a story that condemns injustice. Given its unusual approach, it deserves translation. While the plot is based on a recent event in Spain, it is universal enough in nature to be understood in any country. Child trafficking, which knows no national borders, draws similar emotions regardless of language or culture.
The characters are multilayered and carefully developed and, more importantly, believable until close to the end when they lose some of their authenticity for the sake of elevating the thrill. The first half of the book is skillfully developed, the second half seems long and the end rushed.
The voice of the narrator alternates between the two sisters, whose lives have been placed at opposite ends of the social scale, yet share a common concern – a broken identity disguised as an unshakable gut feeling, a deep-rooted sadness and uneasiness they can’t quite grasp. Mystery and lies are not only ingrained in family ties but also in society and play a crucial role in the development and complexity of the story.
Entra en mi vida is a novel written for a wide audience in terms of age range and literary tastes. It combines aspects of recent Spanish history and fiction. The language and story line are adequate for young adults and the style could also appeal to those favoring mystery novels. Sánchez uses simple and direct language yet the plot is complex enough to maintain the interest of discerning readers seeking entertainment. The entire book can be read in a day and keeps the reader engaged and alert.
This baffling baby-trafficking scheme broke the news a few years ago and has been well covered by the Spanish media.
Numerous heart-wrenching testimonies of broken families have now appeared in Spanish newspapers and television. Entra en mi vida tells the secret story of two of these families, the biological and the adopting, from the point of view and experience of two young girls, believed to be sisters.
It’s common knowledge in Spain that in the decade following the end of the Spanish Civil War, Franco's secret police systematically took thousands of children from women known to have supported the Republican cause. These women were often serving time in prison, or were widows of executed Republicans. But over recent years, it has emerged that the practice continued beyond the war years and was widespread throughout three and a half decades of dictatorship and the period known as the transition to democracy.
Entra en mi vida is based on an illegal Spanish adoption ring that was active from the 1950s through the early 1980s and involved an unholy alliance of doctors and members of the Catholic Church working for a network of Catholic Church-run children's homes and private hospitals. The scheme consisted of vulnerable single or divorced mothers and working-class couples with the “red gene” – socialists and communists -- who were led to believe their children were stillborn only to be sold to wealthier couples, unable to conceive and deemed good Catholics.
Entra en mi vida (Destino, 2012) is a novel by Clara Sanchéz, a writer born in Guadalajara, Spain, and the recipient of two prestigious Spanish literary awards – Premio Alfaguara de Novela in 2000 and the Premio Nadal de Novela in 2010. Her work has been translated in fifteen countries. Clara Sánchez is also known for her collaboration in the Spanish television program about film Qué grande es el cine.
