A book a day: Luisa María Linares: Passionately unfaithful

Passionately unfaithfula novel by Luisa María Linares written in 1955 and translated into several languages, became a true bestseller in its time.

Personally, I think it’s a very worthy bestseller. One that, without being extremely memorable or complex, fulfills its function perfectly. All in all, it reads in one sitting and its touches of mystery and romance are very entertaining; it also exhibits a series of literary virtues that are unusual in similar works.

It is about four women from different backgrounds and lives who are summoned to Italy by Stefano, a love from the past of all of them. Stefano, aged and ill, promises to bequeath them part of his fortune in his will, in exchange for them staying with him for a while in the opulent Casa della Rocca.

I already said that Passionately unfaithful It is entertaining. Luisa María Linares, with great skill, poses some mystery and romance, introduces new plot conflicts and skilfully distributes the information that the reader receives.

The author also gives a not inconsiderable identity to all of her main cast (I would even dare to say that she does so to the supporting cast as well), despite the fact that the novel is already quite large in size. Indeed: Elena, Nicole, Arminda, Irene, Stéfano, her secretary Toni and her doctor León have distinctive characterizations. Their arcs (except for some that seem a bit forced or predictable) also work in general.

On the other hand, I found the dynamics between the characters extremely interesting. Especially those that emerge from Dr. León; the Machiavellian domination he exerts over Stéfano and the cruel humiliation he subjects Toni to are particularly perverse.

The prose of Passionately unfaithful This is another section worth highlighting. Simple and agile as it is, it is quite effective in certain scenes, adequately reflects the psychology of each character and has a very nice sense of humour.

I would perhaps blame the novel for its overall hesitant tone (it doesn’t know whether to lean towards comedy or cynicism) and an obviously anticlimactic ending (Dr. León deserved to be much more of a fuss). I’m not convinced by its second act either, which starts off very strongly but quickly loses steam (although I admit that my relative disappointment in this section may be due to the fact that my expectations for the story were going in a completely different direction than that followed by Luisa María Linares).

Ah, although it didn’t bother me in the least, the work shows an approach to the “battle of the sexes” and feminism that is somewhat outdated. I simply mention it because I know that there are people who may find this uncomfortable. Be that as it may, given the historical context in which it was conceived Passionately unfaithfulthe novel could even be considered ahead of its time, even though it no longer fits into current canons.