A Woman Like Maria by Gabriel Costans; Sweet Romance About a Woman Discovering Her Sexuality and Finding Love

A Woman Like Maria by Gabriel Costans; Sweet Romance About a Woman Discovering Her Sexuality and Finding Love

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Gabriel Costans’ A Woman Like Maria is a sweet Romance about a woman discovering her own sexuality and finding love with another woman.

Sophia is a German woman who lives with a very dysfunctional family. Her parents have a fractured argumentative marriage. Sophia spends much of her time exploring her body and experimenting with relationships. She goes through a few bad relationships before she meets Ricardo, her future husband. Feeling alone and trying to deal with the pressure of life with an abusive husband, Sophia develops a bond with Ricardo's sister, Maria. The bond becomes a friendship and then develops into a romance. 

Sophia is a protagonist who hasn't exactly had the easiest start in life so she obtained an inner strength and determination to survive it. Her parents had a tempestuous relationship which began out of necessity rather than love because her mother was raped by another man. She needed a quick shotgun marriage to save face. 

The couple took their disappointments and failures out on their four children. 

Sophia often had to help her mother raise her younger siblings.In her small village of Blumenjagen, women are expected to marry and have lots of children. Sophia sees the drudgery, volatility, and resentment in the couples around her and certainly wants no part of it.

As Sophia grows, she has some difficult troubled relationships. Her first romance ended because her love interest enjoyed too much attention from other girls. Another ended because of differing ideas about their future. He wanted marriage and she wanted to begin a nursing career. Sophia’s early relationships show her as the type of woman who won't compromise who she is for anyone.

Sophia's romance with Ricardo begins innocuously enough with flirtation, compliments, and small gifts. It hits a snag when Sophia learns that Ricardo is already married and has a son. Sophia is drawn to him but also feels longings for women that she isn't certain about. 

Rather than address those longings, she marries Ricardo after he divorced his first wife. Sophia is strong and independent but when faced with her sexuality she is uncertain how to pursue it or whether she will be accepted. Instead of confronting her feelings for women, she transfers those feelings to Ricardo. She got married because she felt that it was safer to settle and marry a man than embark on a potential affair with a woman.

Sophia pays a heavy price for settling. Her marriage to Ricardo crumbles into abuse and infidelity. Ricardo has multiple affairs, frequent patches of unemployment, and an explosive temper. Their marriage only gets worse when she accompanies him to the United States to be closer to his family. The geographical distance only creates more tension as Sophia has to endure physical and psychological isolation from Ricardo's mistreatment of her. 

Sophia faces the abuse with a stoicism and almost coldness until she meets Maria. The only bright spot in Sophia's life is her relationship with Maria. The more free spirited woman is very open and honest about her relationships with women. She opens Sophia's heart and reminds her of the stirrings that she thought had disappeared. Their passion is undeniable.

More important than the passion is the emotion. Maria is not the same type of person as her brother. She treats Sophia like an equal as compared to Ricardo who treats her like a maid that he doesn't have to pay. Maria is selfless enough to back off out of Sophia's life when she senses things are getting too complicated for her but still retains their companionship through letters. 

After Sophia gives birth to two children, Maria gives her shelter and becomes a second mother to them. Maria encourages Sophia's passions for her career, family, and love. Their relationship allows Sophia the chance to be authentic and embrace the chance for love and fulfillment.

A Woman Like Maria is the type of Romance that explores the relationship between two people but it also explores the inner discovery of one's true self.