""The world is full of sorrow,"" Agapita whispered to Alfonso. Did
she stamp those words into his destiny? The story of Alfonso, a
Nuevo Mexicano, begins with his birth, when the curandera Agapita
delivers these haunting words into his infant ear. What then
unfolds is an elegiac song to the llanos of New Mexico where
Alfonso comes of age. As this exquisite novel charts Alfonso's life
journey from childhood through his education and evolution as a
writer, renowned Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya invites readers to
reflect on the truths and mysteries of the human condition. Because
Alfonso ""didn't write his own biography,"" it falls to his
childhood friend, the anonymous narrator here, to tell his story,
through a series of letters addressed to a mysterious figure named
K. The narrator depicts young Alfonso caught between dual
influences: his beloved, devout Catholic mother, Rafaelita, and the
folk healer Agapita. After suffering a terrible accident that
leaves him physically handicapped, Alfonso faces intellectual
crises during his university years, all of which move him down the
path of his destiny. In describing these events, the ""old man""
writing the letters interweaves Alfonso's experiences with
fragments of his own life and of the New Mexican llano that both
men have called home. The trajectory of Alfonso's life in turn
mirrors the history of New Mexico and the turbulent beginnings of
the Chicano movement in which the young protagonist plays a
trailblazing role. As story builds upon story, the commonality of
traits among the narrator, his subject, and perhaps Anaya himself
appears more than coincidental. Permeated by Anaya's trademark
religious and mythological imagery, The Sorrows of Young Alfonso is
a luminous meditation on memory, reality, and the human experience.
General
Imprint: |
University of Oklahoma Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Chicana and Chicano Visions of the Americas Series |
Release date: |
September 2020 |
Authors: |
Rudolfo Anaya
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
232 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8061-5226-4 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
0-8061-5226-5 |
Barcode: |
9780806152264 |
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!