Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

El amor y la lealtad son puestos a pueba en esta novela llena de brío y agudeza de la reconocida autora puertorriqueña, Rosario Ferré, autora de La casa de la laguna.

Se trata de la historia de una bailarina famosa mundialmente que, en el 1917, visita a Puerto Rico en gira artística y se enamora locamente de un atrevido revolucionario al que le dobla la edad. La imperiosa Madame ha regido su vida por la norma, 'el artista debe anteponer siempre su arte al amor.' Al enamorarse Madame, sin embargo, no solo rueda por el piso su antigua doctrina, sino que pierde el respeto de sus jóvenes bailarinas, quiénes juzgan que Madame las ha traicionado. A esta deslealtad a los ideales artísticos se entreteje la agitación de los disturbios políticos locales, en los cuales Madame y su grupo también se ven involucrados. La revolución rusa los ha dejado sin patria, varados en una isla desgarrada por una guerra de independencia subversiva y solapada, que nadie en la colonia se atreve a mencionar abiertamente.

Las aventuras de Madame son narradas por Masha, su devota seguidora y dama de compañía, quién tiene un ojo perspicaz y describe las tensiones a punto de explotar bajo la superficie aparentemente tranquila del paraíso tropical. Masha sufre a su vez una metamórfosis a causa de la sensualidad del ambiente, y su vida se transforma. Ferré ha tejido aquí, en un rico tapiz de intriga romántica y conspiración política, un retrato convincente de la burguesía caribeña, probando así porqué se le considera hoy una de las novelistas más dotadas de América Latina.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

The story of a prima ballerina and her acolyte, set in Puerto Rico in 1917.

Flight of the Swan is the compelling story of a world-famous Russian prima ballerina who finds herself stranded on a Caribbean island in 1917, due to political upheavals in her own country. This charming jeu d'esprit explores the complexities of love and betrayal, as the loyal servant Masha gradually comes to recognize that in spite of what she sees as Madame's propensity to be both pretentious and vain, the ballerina is prepared to sacrifice everything for her art. Madame's unfaltering commitment to dance above all else -- and her demand of nothing less from her disciples -- forces Masha to question what choices she herself is willing to make when it comes to her own loves, ideals, and relationships.

Humorous, engaging, and coyly revealing, Flight of the Swan traces the decisions made by Masha, Madame, and other members of the troupe during their enforced three-month stay in Puerto Rico, and in doing so raises the question of where true happiness lies.

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)