Winner of the 2005 Sor Juana In???s de la Cruz Prize " What do I feel? " asks the narrator, Nora Garc???a, as she goes back to a Mexican village she has not visited in years to attend the funeral of her ex-husband, a famous pianist who has died of a massive heart attack. This deeply moving novel is the unspoken answer to Nora's self-questioning. "The heart has reasons that reason knows nothing of," Pascal said, and this aphorism of knowing and not knowing is at the core of the novel. Employing motifs of "the heart," ...
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Winner of the 2005 Sor Juana In???s de la Cruz Prize " What do I feel? " asks the narrator, Nora Garc???a, as she goes back to a Mexican village she has not visited in years to attend the funeral of her ex-husband, a famous pianist who has died of a massive heart attack. This deeply moving novel is the unspoken answer to Nora's self-questioning. "The heart has reasons that reason knows nothing of," Pascal said, and this aphorism of knowing and not knowing is at the core of the novel. Employing motifs of "the heart," modes of music from the tango to Bach, and allusions to poetry, the text is a rich amalgam that reveals a life lived deep within literary culture. Like her ex-husband, Nora is a musician, a cellist, and so it is fitting that her novel takes the form of a canon and fugue: phrases circle and repeat, variations are introduced, motifs come and go and intermingle, reflecting a paralysis of the grieving. The novel moves inexorably toward the burial and the revelation of Nora's complex, emotional reaction to Juan's death. Throughout the novel, Nora is moving in the "wake" of that death, being pulled along by the ceremonies of the funeral, the mass, the burial. A rich, nuanced evocation of states of mind and emotion, The Wake powerfully illuminates Nora's quiet grief and rage.
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Seller's Description:
Good. 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Ex-library w/usual stamps & stickers. Text clean & bright; binding tight; minor wear to covers. 123 pages. Translated into English by Andrew Hurley.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
Fine. First American edition. Advance Review Copy. Illustrated wrappers. Translated from the Spanish by Andrew Hurley. Fine with publisher's material laid in.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Collectible-Very Good. Advance Reader's Copy. From the collection of Tom Verlaine. Verlaine was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was a founding member of the seminal punk rock band Television. He was known for his innovative guitar playing and songwriting, and he is considered to be one of the most important and influential musicians of the past 50 years. (Death, Musicians, Fiction)