In Your Hands
Three generations of Portuguese women narrate their stories, beginning in 1935 during Salazar’s authoritarian regime. Jenny, the grandmother, writes in her journals of her marriage to Antonio. His lover, Pedro, lives with them, and Jenny is the outcast, remaining a virgin. In private Jenny listens to the sounds of lovemaking in the next room night after night. Her sad and bitter life is lonely and isolated. In public, they host political and cultural salons with their friends and maintain a respectable front. When Pedro has an outside fling, Camila is conceived. After her mother abandons her, Pedro turns Camila over to Jenny to raise. Camila grows up surrounded by the love of her father, “mother,” and “uncle.” In part two, Camila narrates her story through her photographs. Photography is her attempt to capture the truth within her family and the political times in Portugal. She is caught up in revolutionary activities and later becomes a photojournalist. Natália is born and comes of age. In the final part, Natália tells her story through letters to her grandmother, Jenny, which speak of her relationships and contain many musings on art and relationships.
Each woman reflects the struggles of her generation. Jenny is obligated to live within a marriage that must maintain a façade of normalcy. Camila, in the 1960s and 70s, indulges in free love while pursuing political idealism and rejecting the feminine ideal of beauty. Natália, in the 1990s, wants a career and a relationship while social responsibility comes into play and materialism surrounds her. This novel is full of philosophical contemplations by the characters. The writing is rich and complex, which requires slow, thoughtful reading. It could also become too deep and the meaning too elusive.
