Description: A novel of 1870s Mexico, featuring a mixed-faith family. It is headed by Zacarias Carabajal, a Jewish gold prospector who converts to Catholicism to marry a rich woman, while his parents continue practicing their faith in secret. He is accused of stirring Indians to revolt and while the army is hunting for him, his wife has an affair with an army officer.
Brief description: KATHLEEN ALCALÁ was born in Compton, California, to Mexican parents, and grew up in San Bernardino. She has a BA in linguistics from Stanford University, an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, and an MFA from the University of New Orleans. Both a graduate of and instructor in the Clarion West Science Fiction and Fantasy program, her work embraces both traditional and innovative storytelling techniques. She is the author of six award-winning books that include a collection of stories, three novels, a book of essays, and, most recently, The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, from the University of Washington Press. http: //www.kathleenalcala.com
Review Quotes:
"A poignant tale wrapped in magic . . . echoes of Isabel Allende and Laura Esquivel." -Washington Post Book World
"Kathleen Alcalá is a writer with beautiful gifts. Her prose is continually arresting - there's a spirit in it which is not ordinary. She has given us a strong and finely rendered book in which passions both ordinary and extraordinary are made vivid and convincing." - Larry McMurtry
"...it is testimony to Ms. Alcalá's vivid talents as a storyteller, and to the mystical allure of the threads of magic realism that run through her narrative, that we come to care about many of her characters, and to wonder what destinies await them in her next book." -Laurel Graeber, New York Times Book Review