Texto y Vida es un libro que cubre un un gran aspecto de la lituratura de españa en los años muy viejos. La lengua es muy dificil, pero con leer varias veces se puede entender, y es muy poetica. Este libro da mucha información sobre los escritores, y da un resumen de la obra. Muy informativo. En el fin, hay muchas preguntas generales y tambien temas para escribir. Lo recomiendo a todos quien quiere challenge themselves en la lengua española.

First, if one wants an accurate biographical account of Frida Kahlo's life, do not read this. While this novel is entertaining and well-written, it does a disservice to the memory of Frida Kahlo and her family as well as her contemporaries. It paints a very critical portrait of Frida and her sister Cristina, Diego Rivera, and the others in their circle.
Mujica perhaps correctly portrays Kahlo and Rivera as opportunistic communists who decried the plight of the common man but who also mingled with the very wealthy and took large sums of money for payment for their work while the masses toiled in the fields and factories, bakeries, and homes where they were servants. Also, the depiction of Frida as being extremely self-centered and egotistical is supported by the factual evidence that even Frida's paintings were most often of herself.
However, there are scandalous and eyebrow raising passages that Mujica admits are fictional such as Frida engaging in an affair with one of her underage students, so why include these? Kahlo is an interesting figure even without all of the author's embellishments.
The story is told from the perspective of Frida's younger sister Cristina, and she is often angry and bitter about the fact that Frida got all the attention, negative as well as positive, even when Frida was the most mischievous of the girls. The novel ends with Cristina administering a lethal dose of laudanum to put her sister out of her misery. Again, the author states that this is a fictionalized portrayl and that no one really knows for sure if Frida's death was a suicide or an assisted suicide.
Still, even though the author explains that this work is fiction and she claims her intent was to "capture the essence of Frida Kahlo's personality" and not "document her life," I feel that the best way to capture someone's personality is by an accurate portrayl rather than the truth mixed with fiction. What Mujica's book did for me was pique my interest in the enigmatic and interesting life of Frida Kahlo so that my next choice may be Herrera's bio.

I had to keep reminding myself while I read this novel that it is a work of fiction, based on real events. It is so well-written that it is difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction. At times you feel bad for Frida, and her physical and emotional pain. At other times, you simply want to slap her and tell her to snap out of it. The narrator, her sister Cristina, actually deserves less sympathy. She had a "poor me, I'm the lowly sister of a genius" act a little too down pat. This was my first in-depth glimpse into the world of Frida Kahlo, and I will definitely read a true biography to learn more. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in art, the life of an artist, or Mexican culture. Overall it is a fascinating novel, and extremely evocative of a turbulent time, place, and person.

i knew nothing about frida kahlo or diego rivera before reading this book, and in fact was not very interested in their art (until reading the book, that is). that i enjoyed it suggests that this is a novel for all, even those who do not already love/hate frida and her work.

Dr. Mujica's approach is fresh and engaging - the narration is not just narration: it is spicy and flavourful. it is a taste of frida instead of just a description of what frida tastes like.

the reader gets glimpses of frida through many eyes - not just those of her sister. a jewish father, a confusing mother, a heckled-but-confident childhood and an adult life sprinkled with sexual independence and infamous relationships colour what _could_ have been a traditional (and boring!) treatment of the life of an artist.

Mujica's style and focus keep our minds open. the parents, the childhood, Diego, the art shows and reviews - they were what they were; Mujica doesn't try to force them all into a neatly-packaged psychology of Frida.

i guess i would call it a good read, and then some.