Set in contemporary Spain, Susana Aikin’s latest novel is a colorful, beautifully written examination of memory, romance, and the intricacies of family duty. On a sweltering August day in Madrid, Anna, Julia, and Marion return to their childhood home. The once grand mansion, furnished with exotic objects and art that reflected the cultures of their English father and Spanish mother, once … Spanish mother, once bustled with visitors. But since their father’s death, all three sisters have been reluctant to go back, still feeling the weight of his domineering influence. Julia believes that before the house can sell, it needs to be cleared of negative energy, and she has planned a limpieza, or cleaning ritual.
Marion, the oldest, fears what the ceremony might unleash. Anna, the youngest and most capable and ambitious of the trio, is skeptical of the Cuban santeria hired by Julia. Still, she is wary of antagonizing her siblings, or of stirring up old resentment.
But as the ceremony progresses, guilt and recrimination become impossible to ignore. And if there’s a chance of bringing their house and their lives out of the shadows, it rests in the sisterhood, strength, and indomitable love that remains when the ghosts of the past surrender at last.
more
THE WEIGHT OF THE HEART by Susana Aikin is a beautifully-written and emotionally-complex story of sisterhood, family obligations and love set in contemporary Spain. Sisters Anna, Julia and Marion return to their once-grand childhood home in Madrid. They have been reluctant to return since the death of their father, fearing that his intense and oppressive spirit remains in the mansion. For different reasons, the three sisters all harbor difficult and resentful memories of their father. Middle daughter Julia decides that the house needs a spiritual cleaning ritual and hires a Cuban santera to perform this limpieza. As the ceremony proceeds, each sister is forced to confront the past and come to terms with the choices they made along the way. The story is told from youngest sister, Anna’s point of view and the timeline alternates between the past and present. The characters were so well-portrayed that I felt like I knew them personally. The author deftly explores the characters’ relationships, allowing the reader to fully understand the events and tragedies that tore this family apart. Can these sisters overcome the conflicts of the past and rebuild the bond they once shared? I truly enjoyed this compelling and heartfelt novel and highly recommend it.
An intriguing novel about complicated family relationships and how they dealt with so many unexpected situations is what Susana Ailkin has given us. She provides many situations that are thought-provoking to the point you want to hug the sisters.
The characters were well developed and the three sisters Anna, Julia and Marion were well developed. Delia and Constantine were very memorable with their “limpieza” of the house.
“The Weight of The Heart” is an emotional and intense story with many complex situations throughout that kept me turning the pages.
I finished this tale of sisterhood in one evening.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest review.
The Weight of the Heart by Susana Aikin is an excellent novel about the fundamental concept of family and the bonds that are formed and broken.
In this book, we follow the current day musings and past events that make up this family of three different, yet more similar then they realize, sisters: Anna, Marion, and Julia. We are placed in current-day Madrid, Spain after the passing of their father. The reader can feel the oppressive and dusty heat as the sun beats down on their necks while they sit in on a different fire: a sink or swim meeting of the trio at their childhood home and all the baggage that comes with it. Here we learn of their father, James, and the control, possession, manipulation, and yet still duty and love that is associated with a parent, is depicted. We see sisters at odds within their own lives in part due to their upbringing, and with each other. We see sisters starting this venture at odds, and luckily come out on top forged together stronger then before. The journey of reflection, acceptance, understanding, and love replaces what was there before.
This book brings up monumental concepts: faith, family, loyalty, sacrifice, friendship, and the debate whether these concepts are worth what is given up in order to achieve these instances. Here, family represents all that is loved and loathed. This book incorporates some of the push and pull of family dynamics and how one can either chose to triumph or succumb to their adversities.
I enjoyed reading through the transitions of the three women, and am glad to see they come out all right. I enjoyed the location and also the inclusion of the concept and character of Delia the Cuban santera and the cleansing ritual that was added to the plot by one of the sisters to help diffuse some of the negative energy that, I feel, not only enveloped the house, but also the sisters’ memories of their troubled past. It was interesting to see an alternative to “traditional” therapies of the Western world.
All in all, a good read with an interesting family and a positive outcome.
4/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I found all of the characters unpleasant. The sisters ugly to each other. The father was cruel. All around unpleasant.