My Life With Pablo Neruda

Rating:
Summary: A lyrical, if understandably biased, tribute to a great poet
Review: This translation of Matilde Urruita's memoir adds so much to the the canon of English language material about Pablo Neruda. Opening with the assassination of President Allende and Neruda's death, Urrutia in a series of flashbacks reveals her life with Neruda and his poetry. Indeed, there is a sense that the poetry had a life of its own; it certainly becomes a third "character" in this memoir.

There are moments when Uruttia threatens to overwhelm with overwrought sentimentality, but Uruttia (with no small assist from the translator, I'm certain) stops short. But all in all, it is a delightful book that chronicles a magic love affair.