Aura [Paperback]

Aura is a short story that is written beautifully, capturing the magic and horror of an old widow living with her niece and the secret that binds the two.

The plot is fairly basic, as there isn't really much time to get deep into any of the characters. There are only four, although that is debatable as one is only known through diary recollections. The prime focus of the story is Senora Consuelo, the ageing widow, as the young historian, Felipe Montero, hired to re-assemble her dead husband's memoirs learns more and more about their dark past. Felipe becomes obsessed with the ethereally beautiful niece, Aura, his dreams are filled with feverish images of her and him, together, declaring their love.

The novella is written in an interesting style, using 2nd person perspective (You did this, then you did that), and it works well. It means that we never really get an insight into Felipe's thoughts, but at the same time we only experience things through his eyes. The writing itself alternates between dark imagery involving religion, flowers, cats, and the house the story takes place within and obsessive beauty and fragility, as when Aura is described or mysterious things are occurring. Particularly haunting are the descriptions of the gloomy house filled with the refuse of fifty years of isolation.

The ending of the story wasn't expected, or at least, while I had an idea of what was going to occur, Fuentes took my expectations and extended them to a direction I hadn't predicted and was horrified with - but in the good way. This is a very dark story, and while there are flashes of beauty, these are generally shadowed by the somber tone and melancholy whisperings present throughout the novella. Highly recommended.

Suspense? Check. Romance? Check. Page turning narration? Check, and
double check. Carlos Fuentes manages to keep you involved every step of the way. Whether it's dangling a sliver of the plot just out of your reach, setting your mind off and running only to have you hit a wall when you reach the next page. Or if it's through his masterful use of "you" throughout the narrative.
The use of "you" is what gets you so involved in the book. On the first page alone "you" is used four times (And that's not even including "you're" and "your"). Why "you"? Why not "I"? "He"? "Felipe"? None of them get the job done as effectively. "You" does not only work to get you involved, but it is also what draws you in and allows Fuentes to lead you to the wrong conclusions. All thanks to "you." It gets inside your head. At times it makes you feel as if you are Felipe Montero, and that it is you who are involved in an intimate and surreal seduction.
Aura is written in the style of Magical Realism, where supernatural occurrences appear to be side effects of their environment rather than being placed or directed there by an outside source. Now personally I am not usually a fan of such things as the supernatural. Not that I have anything against the supernatural but it's just that I have a hard time taking such things literally. Now if it were a case of using a myth as a backdrop that ties together a series of odd events, that'd be one thing. I could accept that. But Aura is not such a case. Fuentes wants us to believe that what is happening in Aura is real. And I did. At the end of the book I could hardly believe it was over. Not so much because of my feelings torwards the characters(Though it may have played a role.), but mostly due to me actually believing the words on Fuentes' page. How did it slip under my radar? How did I not realize where I was being led? It's actually quite simple. It can all be traced back to "you." For you see I was Felipe Montero. I was once on scholarship at the Sorbonne. And I too was mesmorized by Aura's green eye's.
Now all of that may be just fine for me, but what about you, the one who
hasn't read the book yet. I'm not sure what to tell you, to make you pick up Aura and enjoy it. The only thing left to say is if you share my skepticism, try to set it aside, I know it to be a near impossible task, but just do your best, and read this book. If after all of this your still not convinced, then all that I have left to say is, YOUR LOSS.

Carlos Fuentes has created a truly inspirational and magnificently mystical story. The presentation of mystical surrealism creates a true puzzle for the mind. For a philosopher, the presentation of realities also presents a chance to either apply the current philosophy or create a new one.

As soon as Fernando steps into the world of mysticism, neither him nor the reader can perceive what is real and what is not. The character Aura enforces the "aura" of confusion. When Fernando starts to see through the mist of the old woman, the reader follows right along

The aspect that adds to the enticing atmosphere of "Aura" is the presence of the philosophy of multiple realities. As the character of Aura is a manifestation of the old woman's reality, Aura also presents herself in Fernando's reality, suggesting the merging of two realities into one. This concept alone will present the mind with endless hours of thinking.

I cannot think of enough words to either describe this magnificent book nor to praise it. While the reading of "Aura" may not take long, the words read will linger around for a while.