Captain of the sleepers / Mayra Montero ; translated by Edith Grossman
Material type: TextPublication details: New York : Picador , 2007.Edition: 1st Picador edDescription: 181 p. ; 22 cmISBN:- 97803124245432
- Capitán de los dormidos . English
- LAS FIC MON
- PQ7440.M56 C3713 2005
Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin American Studies | Biblioteca Pública de San Miguel de Allende, A.C. | LAS FIC MON (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 040875 |
Browsing Biblioteca Pública de San Miguel de Allende, A.C. shelves Close shelf browser (Hides shelf browser)
LAS FIC MON The red of his shadow : a novel | LAS FIC MON Deep purple : a novel | LAS FIC MON The last night I spent with you : a novel | LAS FIC MON Captain of the sleepers | LAS FIC MON A new catechism for recalcitrant Indians | LAS FIC MON Dancing to "Almendra" | LAS FIC MUJ Frida |
Translation of: El capitán de los dormidos.
The yearnings of adolescence clash with adult passions romantic and political in a sensuous, languid novel set in Puerto Rico during the 1950s nationalist movement. Told in flashback, the narrative alternates between the year 2000, when the protagonist, Andres Yasin, and pilot J.T. Bunker, the titular captain, confront each other in old age over a memory questioned and a story untold, and half a century earlier, on the island of Vieques. In 1950, the Captain had an affair with 12-year-old Andres's mother, Estela, who was married to a Vieques hotel owner, but also in love with a rogue nationalist named Roberto. As the Puerto Rican nationalist movement comes to a head and Estela caves to passion with Roberto, Andres's family splinters, and he blames the Captain. Montero's atmospheric, minimal prose beautifully conjures the sensitivity, ardor and craving for normality that define adolescence. Exquisite flashes of lust and corrosive jealousy, among the adults and young Andres alike, vivify the narrative with such evocative phrases as "a look of such gratitude - that carnal, fiery gratitude filled with passwords." Though the enigmatic Estela leaves an unsatisfying void at the novel's center, Montero artfully choreographs the confluence of family, romantic and revolutionary ardor.
There are no comments on this title.