Eva Luna (learn to walk before you can run?)

Question

Buenos días a todos!

Despite the fact that my Spanish really isn't very advanced, I've decided to try and read this book all the same. How much I'll manage before I decide that reading books for children is a better idea I'm not sure! But here is a few things I don't understand from the first page, actually page 9, I don't know why page 1 would be called page 9, especially when there isn't even 8 pages before it! But back to the point.

If you have the book this is in the first paragraph if a context helps, I would write the whole sentence, but it is very long.

'olía a bosque' - It or he smelled to the forest? It or he smelled of forest? 'a' meaning 'to'. I find this a little confusing.

also:

'nunca miraba al cielo de frente' - I don't understand this because the sky is above us, not infront.

Answer 1

'olía a bosque' -

Way to go,m alexa, reading is the best

oler a algo, always goes with "a". Oler a bosque..smelling of forest, has the smell of a forest, wood.

'nunca miraba al cielo de frente' -

Here we need the whole sentence. I guess it is figurative, he was never sincere?

Answer 2

The whole sentence from this point on is:

'nunca miraba el cielo de frente, porque se había criado bajo la cúpula de los árboles y la luz le parecía indecente'

My translation (or attempt of) of this would be:

'he never saw the sky above, because he grew up below the tree canopy and the light appeared wretched to him.'

I'm very good at misinterpreting though...