Amalia Quiñones — Memory River

Clara del Valle

I read La casa de los espíritus not long after I came back from Mexico. I loved Clara. Not because I thought I was anything like her. I just loved the name and the character stayed with me. I lent the book to Carmen afterward and she kept it for months, which was fair considering I still had Miguel's copy of Rayuela. A few years later when I was pregnant and we started talking about names, I suggested Clara. Tomás liked it immediately. I don't think I told him until much later where I'd gotten it.

Santurce, Puerto Rico

1 bookAdded Oct 4, 2026

The book I never returned

A guy in one of my classes lent me Rayuela. I can't remember his last name anymore. His first name was Miguel and he was very serious about books, the kind of person who made you feel like you had read everything incorrectly. He explained to me that you could read it in different orders. I thought this was the greatest thing I had ever heard. I took the book home and never gave it back. For years I felt slightly guilty whenever I saw it on the shelf. Then enough time passed that returning it would have been stranger than keeping it. I still have it. Miguel, wherever you are, I'm sorry.

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

Rayuela — Julio Cortázar

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