Book of the Month
HADES, ARGENTINA
Author: Daniel Loedel
Publisher: Riverhead Books Penguin Publishing Group
ISBN-10: 0593188640 / ISBN-13: 978-0593188644 /
ASIN: B087PL8HXT
SUMMARY:
In 1976, Tomás Orilla is a medical student in Buenos Aires, where he has moved in hopes of reuniting with Isabel, a childhood crush. But the reckless passion that has long drawn him is leading Isabel ever deeper into the ranks of the insurgency fighting an increasingly oppressive regime. Tomás has always been willing to follow her anywhere, to do anything to prove himself. Yet what exactly is he proving, and at what cost to them both?
It will be years before a summons back arrives for Tomás, now living as Thomas Shore in New York. It isn’t a homecoming that awaits him, however, so much as an odyssey into the past, an encounter with the ghosts that lurk there, and a reckoning with the fatal gap between who he has become and who he once aspired to be. Raising profound questions about the sometimes impossible choices we make in the name of love, Hades, Argentina is a gripping, ingeniously narrated literary debut.
Daniel Loedel
Daniel Loedel is a book editor based in Brooklyn. Hades, Argentina, his first novel, was inspired by his family history.
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Author webpage: https://www.danielloedel.com/
Twitter: @DanielLoedel https://twitter.com/danielloedel
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SPIRITS OF THE ORDINARY: A Tale of Casas Grandes
Author: Kathleen Alcala
Publisher: Raven Chronicles Press
ISBN-10: 0997946881 / ISBN-13: 978-0997946888
SUMMARY:
At the turn of the last century, in a small village in northern Mexico, the Caravals have been practicing their Jewish faith in secret. The father Julio, spends his days dabbling with alchemy. His wife, Mariana, cannot speak, but is clairvoyant. Their son is obsessed with his search for gold. Central to the surprising destinies of these characters are the momentous events taking place high in the mountains, at the ancient and sacred cliff dwellings of Casas Grandes. Central to the story is the horrifying impact of the Spanish Inquisition, for 13 generations after all signs of Judaica were wiped from Spanish culture, some members of this family persist, behind bolted doors, in observing and studying Jewish rituals. For them, staying connected to their ancestral faith is paramount, and while each person’s path to piety is different, each search proves powerfully moving.
Alcalá embellishes straightforward prose with tinges of mysticism that will entice even the most spiritually disinterested. This tale of ordinary people in pursuit of honor, decency, and cultural connection is sure to resonate. Set in northern Mexico in the 1870s, Spirits of the Ordinary weaves the stories of women struggling against societal constraints, Mexican Jews practicing their religion in secret, and a gold prospector turned spiritual seeker in a spectacular desert landscape.
KATHLEEN ALCALÁ was born in Compton, California, to Mexican parents, and grew up in San Bernardino. She has a BA in linguistics from Stanford University, an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, and an MFA from the University of New Orleans. Both a graduate of and instructor in the Clarion West Science Fiction and Fantasy program, her work embraces both traditional and innovative storytelling techniques. She is the author of six award-winning books that include a collection of stories, three novels, a book of essays, and, most recently, The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, from the University of Washington Press.
Author Website: http: //www.kathleenalcala.com
Twitter: @katkat_alcala
Instagram: @katzilla.alqala
Publisher Website: https://www.ravenchronicles.org
