Wild Steps of Heaven

by Victor Villasenor

Overview

In his critically acclaimed bestseller Rain of Gold, Victor Villase-or brought his mother's family vividly to life. In Wild Steps Of Heaven, he turns to his father's family, the Villase-ors. Against a vivid backdrop of love and war, magic and heroism, the author breathes life into his father's people—and in particular, the Villase-or women*Margarita, the indomitable matriarch who was swept away by Don Juan Jesus Villase-or on the eve of the Mexican revolution*their beautiful daughters, who find strength and endurance in their mother's faith, and searing passion amidst the turmoil of war. But it is little Juan, the youngest son, through whose eyes this tumultuous saga unfolds. Juan would learn from his brother Jose, a hero of the revolution, how to be a man; and from his beloved mother, how to live and love con gusto y amor.



A story of madness and miracles, rage and redemption, In Wild Steps Of Heaven creates a riveting portrait of an extraordinary family and the country whose earth gave them roots.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385315692
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/10/1997
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	310,138
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Victor Villaseñor is the author of the national bestsellers Rain of Gold, Thirteen Senses, Burro Genius, and Crazy Loco Love, the last two of which were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, as well as other critically acclaimed books, such as Wild Steps of Heaven and Jury: The People vs. Juan Corona. He has also written several screenplays, including the award-winning The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. Villaseñor lives on the North Country San Diego ranch where he grew up.

Editorial Reviews

In this second volume of Villaseor's (Rain of Gold) Mexican trilogy, he relates the history of his father's family in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco in the early 20th century. His father was descended from a noble-blooded Spaniard and an Indian woman whose conflicting cultures epitomize those of the Mexican nation. Indeed, says Villaseor, ``the story of my father's people was filled with so much rage and violence and yet this incredible faith in God.... [It] was the story of all Mexico, and the story of Mexico was the story of the last five hundred years of European dominance all over our globe.'' Drawing on his father's stories and those of other members of his extended family, the author reconstructs their loves, lusts, madness, deaths, births, hunger, massacres, joys and heroism in a folkloric tale reminiscent of the magical realism of Gabriel Garca Mrquez. His characters and the events they live through are so outrageous that familiar stereotypes dissolve in their wake and magnetic individuals come to life, taking both the good and the bad as givens, supported by fierce love of the earth, their families, God and, above all, la vida. Author tour. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This fictionalized account of the 1910 Mexican Revolution focuses on the near- destruction of the author's family and is a sequel to his Rain of Gold (LJ 7/91), though it easily stands on its own. The story, tinged with magical realism, is a compelling one, though at times almost too violent and degrading to bear. Reader Dick Hill's Spanish accent seems perfect, and he is excellent with male voices of characters ranging in age from eight to 80. His characterizations of women, however, are undramatized and without nuance. This title will be in demand with lovers of adventure and an interest in Latin ancestry.Preston Hoffman, Shelby, N.C.

Library Journal