Swift As Desire - Softcover

Esquivel, Laura

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552778923 ISBN 13: 9780552778923

Publisher: Black Swan, 2012

Synopsis

Don Jubilo entered the world smiling rather than crying like other babies, and his life mission is to bring happiness to everyone's lives. Even as a young boy, acting as interpreter between his warring Mayan grandmother and his Spanish-speaking mother, he mistranslates words of spite into words of respect, so that their mutual hatred turns to love. When he grows up, he puts his gift for hearing what is in people's hearts and interpreting it to others, to good use in his job as the village telegraph operator. But the telegraph now lies abandoned, obsolete as a means of communication in the electronic age, and don Jubilo is on his deathbed, mute and estranged from his beloved wife, Lucha, who refuses to speak to him. What tragic event has come between such two sensuous, giving people to cause this seemingly irreparable rift? What mystery lies behind the death of their son, Ramiro, whom no one ever mentions? Can daughter Lluvia bring reconciliation to their parents by acting as an interpreter between them, just as Jubilo did for his grandmother and mother when he was a boy?

This bittersweet story of the humble telegraph operator with a talent for curing misunderstanding, for hearing sand dunes sing and insects whisper, is based on the story of Laura Esquivel's own father, just as the much-loved LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE was inspired by her mother's family. Romantic, poignant, touched with graphic earthiness and wit, Esquivel shows us how, in our computerised world of excess, keeping secrets will always lead to unhappiness, and how old-fashioned speaking to each other can redress and heal all our wrongs.

About this title

Review:

Laura Esquivel's Swift As Desire is a novel-cum-tribute to her father Jubilo, "born happy and on holiday" in early 20th-century Mexico. Now on his deathbed and unable to speak, his daughter Lluvia, the story's narrator, tries to puzzle out what had driven her parents' marriage asunder, for "even though the lines were down, their love kept travelling as swift as their desire".

Jubilo seems to have had every virtue: as son, father and friend, his gifts of communication, generosity and warmth were legion. And if his characterisation as husband leans rather too heavily on adoringly possessive Latin who makes love like a divine demon--well, let's overlook the stereotyping. His passion for his wife Lucha and their two children, his dedication to his work as a telegraph operator and his general bon vivance made him a man for all worlds. And yet, and yet... a photograph found by chance leads Lluvia to the heart of the matter.

Esquivel's frequent, interspersed reflections and observations, intruding on the narrative flow, tilt towards the trite and obvious, and are often surprisingly clumsily expressed. But the award-winning author of the bestselling Like Water for Chocolate presents her characters with such affection and zest, and such bountiful sensuality, that the book's shortcomings can be overlooked. --Ruth Petrie

Review:

"'Esquivel's special gift is making ordinary lives appear extraordinary.. Ten years since LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, but (Esquivel) has lost none of her touch.'" (The Birmingham Evening Mail)

"'Small but perfectly formed.' Glamour"

"'Esquivel tells a story with earthy, observant sensuality ... it vividly evokes universal emotions in an exotic world.'" (Jessica Mann Sunday Telegraph)

"'A beautiful story, rich with love, that closely examines language, communication and misunderstanding.'" (Punch)

"'Haunting and hypnotic love story.'" (Harpers & Queen)

About this edition

• Publisher: Black Swan
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0552778923
• ISBN 13: 9780552778923
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208