Intro #
I was drawn in by the main character’s journey to discover her own heart while building a relationship with the secondary character. She was doubtful and afraid and almost went catatonic, but in the end she endured.
The final chapter artfully linked the book to The Gift of the Magi. I was touched by both characters’ willingness to sacrifice that which they held most dear. They did not expect nor ask the other to do the same, but decided for themselves that the other person was worth the sacrifice. They sacrificed out of their own accord with no promise of reward; a real sacrifice.
Look at the quality of this hug on the cover of the book. Who doesn’t want that?!
Favorite Quotes #
Below or many of my favorite quotes from the book. I read the book in Spanish but translated them all.
Vampires #
- “What are you thinking about?” -I asked.
- “In vampires. Those nightly beings, imprisoned within themselves, looking desperately for companionship, but incapable of love.
That’s why legend has it that it’s enough to drive a stake through their heart to kill them; once that happens, the heart wakes up and releases love’s energy and destroys the evil.”
- ¿En qué piensas? -preguntó.
- En vampiros. En los seres de la noche, encerrados en sí mismos, buscando desesperadamente compañía. Pero incapaces de amar. » Por eso dice la leyenda que basta con clavarle una estaca en el corazón para matarlo; cuando eso ocurre, el corazón despierta, libera la energía del amor y destruye el mal.
This is a new interesting twist on vampires and stabbing them in the heart. When you stab them in the heart they’re being set free, or destroyed by love, however you want to look at it.
Magic and craft #
Sometimes a sadness we can’t control fills us, he said. We perceive that the magical instant of the day has passed and that we did nothing. It’s then that life puts away its magic and craft.
A veces nos invade una sensación de tristeza que no logramos controlar, decía él. Percibimos que el instante mágico de aquel día pasó, y que nada hicimos. Entonces la vida esconde su magia y su arte.
Oh wow! Has that ever happened to you?! It has to me. To realize that the day’s magic has somehow slipped away without me taking advantage of it. Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, I can wake up in the morning and sense that the magic has been turned on, that it’s back, and I try real hard on those days to make the most of it.
Divided I fall #
“Then go there and eliminate all doubt - he said. Stay out in the world or go back to the seminary. But you have to be whole no matter which one you pick.
A divided kingdom cannot resist the onslaught from an adversary.
A divided human being cannot face life with dignity.”
»- Entonces ve allí, y sácate todas las dudas -dijo él-. Quédate en el mundo, o regresa al seminario. Pero tienes que estar entero en el lugar que escojas.
Un reino dividido no resiste las embestidas del adversario.
Un ser humano dividido no consigue afrontar la vida con dignidad.
To want to eliminate all doubt. That is something I can truly resonate with. When there is doubt then it is best to face it head on because in my experience I become divided, neither of this world nor not of it.
Undecided #
“It hurts to wait. It hurts to forget. But the worst of all sufferings is not knowing what to decide.”
» Esperar duele. Olvidar duele. Pero el peor de los sufrimientos es no saber qué decisión tomar.
Not knowing what to do can be a crippling thing for anyone to deal with, and most of all for someone in a position that is higher up the social ladder, a leader. Being undecided as a leader is the antithesis of leadership.
Hellish Paradise #
God hides hell in the middle of paradise.
Dios escondió el infierno en medio del paraíso.
Isn’t that the truth! It depends on how you look at it of course. Conversely, paradise is hidden in the middle of hell.
Risky times #
Moments exist where it’s still necessary to take a risk, to take senseless steps.
Existen momentos en los que todavía es necesario correr riesgos, dar pasos insensatos.
This is the case all life long. Things may be stable for the most part, but there is always something we can do that will throw our own lives into a tumultuous spin.
A one person fight #
Some people live in a constant fight with someone, in a fight with themselves, in a fight with life itself. In this way, they begin to orchestrate a type of theatrical performance in their head, and they write the script according to their state of being.
Ciertas personas viven peleadas con alguien, peleadas con ellas mismas, peleadas con la vida. Así, empiezan a montar una especie de pieza teatral en su cabeza, y escriben el guión según sus estaciones.
I think I’ve been this person at some point in my past. To be fighting with the echoes of someone else in my own mind is not the best use of time and energy. It’s definitely a helpful skill to be able to convene with my loved ones in my own mind and to hear their voices and feel their presence, but to argue with them is not a fruitful thing.
Love doesn’t come slow #
“Love never comes gradually”, I was thinking as I saw him engrossed in contemplating the Virgin Mary. The day before, the world made sense without him being here. Now I needed to have him by my side to discover the real glow of everything.
«El amor nunca viene gradualmente», pensaba mientras lo veía absorto en la contemplación de la Virgen. El día anterior, el mundo tenía sentido sin que él estuviese presente. Ahora necesitaba tenerlo a mi lado para poder descubrir el verdadero brillo de las cosas.
I think that’ll be a question I feel fine not having answered exactly. Can love come slowly? I can believe that it can but who knows. What I do know is that when it’s there everyday things seem to glow differently. Pouring water into a cup can be an experience.
The Fear Can Get You As It Does Many #
God, I’m trying to rediscover my faith. Don’t abandon me in the middle of a story like this." -I asked, pushing away the fear.
«Dios, estoy intentando recuperar mi fe. No me abandones en medio de una historia como ésta», pedí, alejando el miedo.
How to push away fear is something we should all learn. I’ve learned how to push away minor fears and even some mediocre fears but the greater fears of the world are still things I struggle pushing away.
In this case the main character invokes a time-tested way to scarecrow away fear; God. In fact, this quote reminds me of the story of two footprint sets in the sand where God where God replies to the person praying:
My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
There are other ways to push away fear and discovering them can be fun, painful, and never easy.
Fearing to Care and Love #
Patience. That was the first lesson I learned about love. The day drags on, you plan a million things, you imagine all possible conversations, you promise to change your behavior… and you start to become more and more anxious until your beloved arrives.
Then you don’t know what to say. Those hours of waiting have transformed into tension, the tension becomes fear, and the fear makes us embarrassed to show we care.
Esperar. Ésa fue la primera lección que aprendí sobre el amor. El día se arrastra, haces miles de planes, imaginas todas las conversaciones posibles, prometes cambiar tu comportamiento… y te vas poniendo ansiosa y ansiosa, hasta que llega tu amado.
Entonces ya no sabes qué decir. Esas horas de espera se han transformado en tensión, la tensión en miedo, y el miedo hace que nos dé vergüenza mostrar nuestro afecto.
That’s right. Sometimes fear prevents us from loving properly. We become insecure and afraid, we begin to walk on eggshells. I’m happy to say I’m much better about that now but it did take some life experience to overcome. It doesn’t mean I’m good at it, or that I can do it easily, it just means I’m letting fear not get in the way as much as it did before.
God made us for Happiness? #
Notwithstanding, if we admit that God created us for happiness, we have to assume that all that leads us to sadness and defeat is our fault.
Por lo tanto, si admitimos que Dios nos creó para la felicidad, tendremos que asumir que todo aquello que nos lleva a la tristeza y a la derrota es culpa nuestra.
I don’t know what God made us for. Who cares? What I do know and believe is that our lives are our own, happiness or otherwise.
This is my life to live, this is my gamble.
Be Happy In Combat #
Follow your dreams, transform your life into a path that leads to God. Make your own miracles. Heal. Make prophecies. Listen to your guardian angel. Transform yourself. Be a warrior, and be happy in combat.
Siga sus sueños, transforme su vida en un camino que conduzca hasta Dios. Realice sus milagros. Cure. Realice profecías. Escuche a su ángel de la guarda. Transfórmese. Sea un guerrero, y sea feliz en el combate.
I’ve studied martial arts and have sparred with different people and I can say that there is a certain joy in a sparring match with someone.
I know I’m doing something right when I feel that joy in the everyday struggles of life,
I Was Afraid You Had Gone #
“Some moments I was afraid you had gone. You’re the most precious thing I have on this Earth.” “You too”, I responded.
- Por momentos tuve miedo de que te hubieses ido. Tú eres la cosa más preciosa que tengo en esta tierra.
- Tú también -respondí.
To trust that the other has your best interests in mind, and to know they trust you with their best interests. It’s a fantasy, I know, but it’s nice to think about.
Break the Glass #
Break the glass, I thought to myself, because it’s a symbolic gesture. Try to understand that I broke things within myself many things much more important than a glass, and I’m happy for having done it. Look at your own inner struggle and break the glass.
Rompe el vaso, pensaba para mí, porque es un gesto simbólico. Trata de entender que yo rompí dentro de mí cosas mucho más importantes que un vaso, y estoy feliz de haberlo hecho. Mira tu propia lucha interior, y rompe ese vaso.
This one was interesting to read because the main character wants to see some sort of reciprocity from the secondary character; an indication that the secondary character is willing to go the extra mile for her.
That’s a nice thing to want to see. Who doesn’t want to feel wanted like that? The issue I have with this is that she never bothered to see or ask just how far the secondary character has already gone for her.
Children Always Leave #
Her son left her. But children always leave their parents. It’s easy to suffer for the love to one’s neighbor, for the love to the world or the son. That suffering gives the impression that it is all a part of life, that it is a noble and grandiose pain. It’s easy to suffer for the love of a cause, or a mission; that just makes the heart of the sufferer even larger.
But how do you explain the suffering caused for loving a man? It’s impossible. That’s when people feel like they’re in hell, because nobleness and grandiosity don’t exist, only misery.
Su hijo la dejó. Pero los hijos siempre dejan a los padres. Es fácil sufrir por amor al prójimo, por amor al mundo o por amor al hijo. Ese sufrimiento da la sensación de que todo eso es parte de la vida, de que es un dolor noble y grandioso. Es fácil sufrir por amor a una causa, o a una misión: eso sólo engrandece el corazón del que sufre.
Pero ¿cómo explicar el sufrimiento por un hombre? Es imposible. Entonces, la gente se siente en el infierno, porque no existe nobleza ni grandeza, apenas miseria.
It’s a truth of life that I see reflected in my own. Children always leave their parents. It’s the way nature intended things in my opinion.
The last line says “suffering caused for loving a man” but I think it could just as easily say “woman”. In today’s world there seems to be no nobility attributed to suffering for loving a man/woman, but I think there is a nobility in it depending on how we entered into the suffering.
Love those which are close #
That’s why, we should only love those which we can have close to us. -I concluded
Por eso, solo debemos amar a quien podemos tener cerca -concluí.
I can see where the main character is coming from. It’s hard to romantically love someone far away. Having an indifferent love for someone far away, wishing the best for them, is easy enough. I’m sure at this point some readers might have these words come to mind: Eros, Agape, and Philos. Who cares.
For me the takeaway is that the loves that are closest to us, no matter the type, are the most rewarding.
The Other Self #
“Men always have their motives”, said the Other. But the fact remains that they always end up leaving the woman.
« Los hombres siempre tienen motivos -respondió la Otra-. Pero el hecho es que terminan dejando a las mujeres.»
The main character makes a distinction about having an Other in her, an inner voice, that is portrayed as an insecure pessimistic realist. In this case, the Other tries to engender fear of love in the main character under the guise of being logical.
What the Other says can be either wrong or right, depending on how you think about it. I don’t agree with the statement though. That is the purpose of the Other, however. She is there to cast doubt on all situations. I have no trouble doubting good things so I can do without the Other’s advice.
Wise Love or Delusional Love #
“For the love of god” -he said. …. “For the wise that are capable of understanding that some loves are infantile delusions”, I said. “Someone that is wise, is only wise because they love. Some that is delusional is delusional because they think they can understand love.” - he responded.
- ¡Por el amor! -dijo ….
- Por los sabios, capaces de entender que ciertos amores son locuras de la infancia -dije.
- El que es sabio, sólo es sabio porque ama. El que es loco, sólo es loco porque piensa que puede entender el amor. -respondió él.
Which camp am I in? The wise one or the delusional one? I don’t know.
What I can say is that this page in the book reeked of a sort of piousness that borders on arrogance. It was cheesy. Oh well, not every sentence in a book can be gold. That doesn’t detract from the book, however. I book with one thing I disagree with is not a bad book. Conversely, a book with one idea I agree with is not a good book.