Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Una obra epica sobre los linajes de dos familias, escrita por la autora de La casa de la laguna.

"Mama naci en Guayames el 6 de enero de 1901. Mi abuelo, Alvaro Rivas de Santillana, estaba convencido de que los Reyes Magos se la habian traido como obsequio, pero abuela Valeria decia que Clarissa habia nacido por culpa de las lluvias."

Asi comienza uno de los muchos cuentos de Vecindarios Excentricos, donde las historias de hombres y mujeres cuyos amores y perdidas coincidieron con la desaparici n de la sociedad colonial de la isla y con el nacimiento de una clase de nuevos ricos, se despliegan en un abanico de relatos esplendidos. Los personages de Ferre saltan fuera de la pagina con tal fuerza que rayan casi en lo mitol gico, acompanados por suenos y sucesos. Un abuelo carinoso, decidido a enlazar a su nieta con un miembro de la aristocracia francesa, sella su destino tragico al celebrar su cotill n en el palacio de Versalles; una solterona se propone seducir al hombre mas rico de Guayames, rezandole a la vez a Jesucristo y al Departamento de Hacienda para que lo exima de los impuestos. Los relatos de Ferre son a la vez divertidos y tristes, conmovedores y sensuales. Pertenecen a una larga y distinguida tradici n de narrativa hispanoamericana.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

A "colorful family saga" set against the dramatic historical backdrop of twentieth-century Puerto Rico, from an author nominated for the National Book Award (Kirkus Reviews).

Elvira Vernet narrates Eccentric Neighborhoods as she attempts to solve the mystery of who her parents truly are. Her mother, the beautiful and aristocratic Clarissa Rivas de Santillana, was born into a rarefied world of privilege, one of five daughters on the family's sugar plantation. Elvira's father, Aurelio Vernet, and his three brothers and two sisters were raised by Santiago, a Cuban immigrant who ruled his family with an iron hand. As Puerto Rico struggles for independence-and Aurelio takes his place among the powerful political gentry-a legacy of violence, infidelity, faith, and sacrifice is born.

Set against the backdrop of a country coming of age, Eccentric Neighborhoods is a lush, transcendent novel, a family saga about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, parents and children. In this magnificent follow-up to The House on the Lagoon, Rosario Ferre delivers a work of historical fiction influenced by magical realism and infused with forgiveness and love.

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Offerings in fiction represent a fine mix, from titles already published here in English (the works by Alvarez, Bencastro, Escand¢n, and Ferr‚) to works due in English this fall (Allende's first fiction in many years) to Fuentes's latest, a recapitulation of 20th-century Mexico centered on the passionate and provocative Laura Diaz. Arte P£blico continues its fine effort to restore lost Hispanic classics, written in what is now the United States from the colonial era until today, with a tale by Venegas dating from 1928. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Rosario Josefina Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 28, 1938. She received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Manhattanville College, a master's degree in literature from the University of Puerto Rico, and a Ph.D. in Latin American literature from the University of Maryland. She was a professor of Latin American literature at several universities including the University of California, Rutgers University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Puerto Rico.

She was a novelist, poet, essayist, and children's book author. She was the editor of the literary magazine Loading and Unloading Zone as well as a newspaper columnist and critic. She wrote several books in Spanish and English including The House on the Lagoon, Eccentric Neighborhoods, and Sweet Diamond Dust: And Other Stories. She died on February 18, 2016 at the age of 77.

(Bowker Author Biography)