When the beautiful Magdalena Chavez and her troubled, passionate
son move into the small town of Las Madres, New Mexico, it doesn't
take long for the discerning among the townspeople to discover that
they are "other." Magdalena is a teller of stories that delight
many, but also challenge the assumptions of one and all. Soon the
reader is seduced into an enchanted world in which the boundary
between reality and fantasy is always on the point of collapsing.
The main characters must maintain a difficult balance between
opposing polarities-sacred and profane, forbidden desire and
ruthless power-a balance that seems to come instinctively to the
simple but knowing inhabitants of Las Madres. Fairhead is utterly
at home in this environment, evoking it with a mixture of precision
and lyrical intensity. Whether she is describing the tumult of a
bullfight, the stillness of a work of art or the vast, cinematic
splendour of the New Mexico landscape, her voice is always pitch
perfect. As the title suggests, it is a world of great beauty, but
that same title also warns us that we cannot speak of beauty
without also speaking of death. The Duende, that dark wind that
blows through the world and touches the back of the neck whenever
death is possible, is never far away. BARBARA GRENFELL FAIRHEAD was
born in the UK in 1939 and has lived in South Africa since 1948.
She is an artist, sculptor, writer, poet and lyricist for the band,
Red Earth & Rust. She has published two books of poetry: "And
Now You Have Leapt Up To Swallow the Sun" 1997 and "Word and Bead:
The Presentation of a Journey" 2001, and a short story: "Raven's
Moon" 2001. Over a period of twenty years she visited New Mexico
regularly to spend time in her casita close to Black Mesa. She
lives in Cape Town with her partner, singer-songwriter, poet and
editor, Jacques Coetzee. "Of Death and Beauty" is her first novel.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
