Jordi Sierra i Fabra: “The Memory of Loved Lost” Analysis
Jordi Sierra i Fabra: “The Memory of Loved Lost”
Jordi Sierra i Fabra: “The Memory of Loved Lost.” Editorial SM.
Sierra i Fabra, Jordi (1947), Spanish writer, rock historian, and author of children’s literature. Born in Barcelona, he studied Surveying, a profession he began to practice during the day while writing at night and contributing to Big Music Radio Madrid. Starting in 1970, he led the seminar Disco Express. In 1972, he published History of Pop Music, and in 1982, the six-volume dictionary of Rock Music History, which first appeared in installments and has been released in many countries. He has also written about The Beatles, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Miguel Rios, and many others. He regularly contributed to almost all pop and rock music magazines. Since the late 1970s, his dedication to music has been reduced to being an advisor to the Super Pop magazine, which does not mean he has stopped writing about this genre; quite the contrary.
His dedication to children’s literature began steadily after his first book, The Deer Hunter (1981), won the Wide Angle award, and his second, In a Place Called Earth (1983), also received the same award.
With over one hundred published works in both Castilian and Catalan, Sierra i Fabra is characterized by a script full of fantasy set in the real world, concrete and even very hard, but there is always room for hope. Other notable books include: The Last Summer (1987), The Amazing Expedition (1988), The Great Ship (1989), The Ballad of the Century (1989), Kaopí (1990), Will Never Be Rock Stars (1994), and The Child Living in the Stars (1996).
Argument
The story begins when Estela brings her boyfriend, Michael, to dinner to introduce him to her parents. Estela and Michael are very much in love, and she confides in her friend Fina. Estela volunteers at an NGO called Action Direct Aid, where she spends most of her spare time. One day, she sees a woman wearing the same clothes she saw in front of the faculty. She goes home and sees her again from her room; it’s as if she is being followed. Estela becomes afraid. Estela and her family never speak of her past; she only knows that she was born in Argentina and soon came to Spain because of her father’s work.
Estela is supposed to have a drink with her best friend, but she decides to go alone and leaves her friend in the cafeteria. There, she finds the mysterious woman who tells her she wants to talk to her about Argentina. They go to a cafe, and the mysterious lady begins to tell the true story of Estela’s life. She reveals that Estela’s real parents were abducted by soldiers who broke into their house, shot them, and took them to a prison where they were tortured. Her father and uncle were killed, and shortly after Estela’s birth, her mother was tortured and murdered. Estela was then taken by a man who happened to be Armando Lavalle, her supposed father. Estela doesn’t believe her and goes home, thinking about everything. People have told her that she is unlike any of her family, but she still doesn’t want to believe it. She seeks help and information about everything the lady told her from her friend, Modesto Sanjuán. He gathers all the information he can, especially about what happened in Argentina around the year of her birth. With this information, she visits her grandmother, who tells her that her father was a soldier. She also finds a letter from the mysterious lady, who is actually her aunt, and searches for things in her parents’ room. She begins to believe the truth and goes to talk to her aunt. Estela believes the truth is undeniable and speaks with her mother, who tries to make excuses, saying she was infertile and wanted children and that she loves her. She also speaks with her father, who tells her that he killed her mother because he was only following orders and that he loves her. Heartbroken, Estela leaves home to live with her boyfriend.
Main Characters:
- Estela
- Ana Cecilia Mariani
- Armando Lavalle Pear Puigbó
Supporting Characters:
- Michael
- Alexandra
- Fina
- Modesto Sanjuán
The setting is concrete because it takes place in Barcelona, although Argentina is mentioned. It is also open because the characters move to various locations around Barcelona.