I didn’t know whether to confirm that calendar dates determined my readings; Now that the life dates have been determined for you: I approve. The same thing happened to me with Rosa Montero’s The Ridiculous Idea of Never Seeing You Again (Seix Barral, 2013; 2023) – by the way, what a nice title for a romance novel, not sentimental like this – after I couldn’t decide to read it for years Because when I picked it up, I decided to put it back on its shelf in the bookstore, it was time. Now, on All Saints’ Eve and in a perfect anniversary week for me, I saw it, bought it and read it. And the point is that a book about grief, about the premature loss of a loved one – if there is a suitable time – is not recommended for many people, because unless we think about it or feel it, we can agree with the author that «[…] The most important thing that has happened to me in my life is my death” (p. 9).
The book, which can already be classified as a fictional essay or a tentative novel (after all, the name is not important), tells the story of the pain she experienced after her husband’s death throughout 16 chapters. The diary of Marie Curie, who was herself a traumatic widow. Following the text in question presented at the end of the book, Rosa Montero describes her own evaluations of Nobel’s history, including the diary in question, inside and out, as she also did so. By combining their emotions with their own, the awardee allows them to filter through what has been experienced, what is remembered, and, if that can be achieved, what is gradually assumed, rather than showing them nakedly. . Starting a new life after loss (“When a child is born or a person dies, the present is split in two” p. 9), reinventing oneself and many positive similar verbs, a baggage already acquired when what you are actually doing is living with it You don’t want it to stop you from experiencing exactly that.
Thus, through her photographs, she learns about Marie Curie’s life, her teenage years, her love for Pierre, her work, and her research that would lead to the death of both herself and her daughter; the ingratitude of the people and the gratitude of many, and in the midst of all this, the grief of the writer, which is already in its final stage. I thought it was great that her husband appeared so rarely, he’s barely a character in the novel/essay/novel, because that way he’s in every word, every emotion, and every one of Rosa Montero’s. because she was the one who made him think and feel the way he did from the time of her death until the decision to write the book. I completely understand why you find yourself in the middle of silence.
And all this together with the author’s characteristic themes, for example, feminism and social inequality. And also the touches of humor that bring him closer to his readers and make him a writer who knows how to penetrate colloquial language like no one else, so that the most transcendent can be understood at the first time: «![…] Even though the Curies had no idea of the mess they had gotten themselves into” (p. 101); and the inclusion of numerous hashtags, the list of which is presented on p. 211: #Ambition, #FemaleGuilt; #MenWeakness; #Happiness; #DoWhatYouShouldDoEtc.
So why should you read this book, novel, essay? Because, as I said at the beginning, these dates invite readings about the dead, and the histories of Marie Curie and Rosa Montero can be very similar to us and our process of overcoming pain. Of course, every book has its own memory for every reader. Let’s see if you’re lucky?