>> Look Inside
>> Reviews 
>> Send this page to a friend

Spirits of the Ordinary

A Tale of Casas Grandes By Kathleen Alcalá

5-1/2 x 8 in; 204 pp ;
Hardcover
Published in January, 1997
ISBN 0811814475
ISBN13 9780811814478
Sorry, this book is out of print. Please contact alibris.com for limited availabilty.

$22.95  

Spirits of the Ordinary -- A spectacular tapestry of folklore, spirituality, and constantly shifting landscapes, this enchanting and original first novel will appeal to readers of Isabel Allende, All the Pretty Horses, and Like Water for Chocolate. Unfolding a rare and haunting gift for story-telling, Kathleen Alcalá begins her tale in the 1880s and follows three generations of the Carabajal family on a path of forbidden love and hidden belief that wends across the Mexico-Texas border. Estela risks the security of her comfortable home and children to pursue a consuming passion. Her husband, Zacarìas, is guided by an inexplicable spiritual longing and his affinity for the indigenous people who dwell in the cliffs of Casas Grandes. Zacarìas's father, a cloistered Jew, studies the ancient wisdom of the Torah and the Cabala, hoping to unlock the secrets of his son's future. The truth, when it comes, will surprise all of them.

Kathleen Alcalá was born in California and now lives in Seattle. She is the author of a highly praised collection of stories, Mrs. Vargas and the Dead Naturalist.

Quotes

An extraordinary debut, this tale of ordinary people in pursuit of honor, decency, and cultural connection is sure to resonate.

Library Journal

In the tradition of Latin American literary fabulism, Alcala's seductive writing mixes fatalism and hope, logic and fantasy, to create moral, emotional and political complexities. Publishers Weekly