Spanish journalist and acclaimed novelist Montero (Amado amo [Beloved Master], Debate, 1988; La hija del canibal [The Cannibal's Daughter], Espasa, 2001) has reached the point in her career where she needs to talk about her profession, and here she does a delightful job of fulfilling that need. A quote from St. Theresa of Avila, "La imaginacion es la loca de la casa" ("Imagination is the crazed woman inside me"), is the driving concept of the book, which plays at once with at least three genres: autobiography, literary essay, and plain old fiction. In this inventive mix, we get Montero's thoughts about writing and its relation to death, memory, passion, and madness while learning, for example, why she is obsessed with midgets, how Johann W. von Goethe became Dr. Faustus, and which of the gorillas' sing-language messages are heartbreaking. But besides recalling several delicious anecdotes from Leo Tolstoy, Italo Calvino, and Philip Dick, or retelling fables from Scheherazade on, Montero presents three versions of a romantic rendez-vous with a celebrity she met in her youth. Each time, something different happens, and these fictional variations on a true story illustrate the subject around which she gracefully builds her book: Imagination and reality are necessary sisters that writers must keep together to reach truth in their own way. Montero has written a very entertaining book not just for readers looking for insight on the craft of writing but for anyone seeking a joyful read. Recommended for public libraries and bookstores.
Gustavo Pesoa, New York City Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171996505 |
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Publisher: | Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial |
Publication date: | 04/18/2019 |
Series: | Hispánica |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Language: | Spanish |
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