Tomorrow I'll Say, Enough

Melodramatic title aside, this is a quiet, intelligent account of an educated Argentinian woman and her struggle towards self-discovery. Alejandra, a painter and critic, decides to spend the summer of her 49th birthday at the isolated La Paloma resort rather than the trendy Punta del Este. In solitude, she hopes to find inner peace and to mentally prepare for the onset of ""old age."" But she is a diplomat's daughter, a naval officer's widow, mother of three, a grandmother, and her daughters won't let her forget it. They descend on her with their relentless demands on her material--and maternal--reserves. Although they think her neurotic for wanting to be alone, she manages (shakily) to hold her ground. She knows that she is now out of step with the social circus of the Argentinian aristocracy, something that is reinforced by the reflected image of herself in the mirror of a free, natural woman with uncoiffed hair, dark tanned skin and denim. At first, she fears that she will be mistaken for a lesbian and so dons the ""circus horse"" outfit and persona of the party circuit. Much later she asks: ""What am I without my own reflection embellished or distorted by the will of others?"" Gentle, and mature, this is a smart story of a woman able to challenge her former social mores and form a new community. (Sept.)