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Una família exemplar
'Una familia ejemplar' is a hilarious satire, a tragicomedy that takes a look at the disproportionate ambition that sometimes makes reasonable people lose their heads, and also a searing critique of great family sagas. A reflection in ironic tone on identity crises, which describes the cross a father must bear when, dazzled by his daughter's wedding and the advantages the union will entail for his family, he starts to discover that the true nature of the political family will sink his plans for greatness.
After reading Peter Bush´s report of this novel and taking into account other aspects of Una familia Exemplar, our Panellists came to the conclusion that it has enough twists, turns and surprises to keep readers engaged from beginning to end. They all agreed that it has everything it takes to find a market in the UK.
(…)The novel is a satirical, amusing and at times laugh out loud funny look at the effects personal ambition can have on entire families and the importance of personal decisions over historical predestination. Narrated by an initially unidentified source, the narrative begins as a distanced, objective perspective of the characters and their backgrounds. The descriptions are given in minute detail which gives the impression of reading a historical document that records a snapshot of a particular moment in time. However as the story unfolds and the reader discovers that the narrator (or chronista) is very much involved in the story, s/he becomes more involved and emotionally engaged with the events that are unfolding. The characters themselves are grotesque caricatures, both physically and in terms of their personalities and few, if any have any redeeming features, indeed they are not the most likeable of people. However, this only serves to exaggerate the satirical nature of the novel and shows how much each one is in control of his or her own destiny. (…)
In conclusion I would say that Una família exemplar is an amusing, surprising and at times shocking novel that will have the reader hooked from the beginning until the rather unexpected ending. (…) (From the reader report by Jennifer Arnold)