Kissing the Virgin's Mouth
A Novel
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Guadalupe Magdalena Molina Vásquez -- wife, scoundrel, courtesan, mother -- is full of contradictions: she believes in love but is suspicious of men; she rejects religion but admires the Virgin Mary; she respects tradition while breaking all the rules. Here, in the Golden Zone of Teatán, Mexico, Magda tells her extraordinary life story -- from a poor Mexican barrio to American affluence, from wide-eyed childhood to worldly courtesan life, from full-blooded youth to oncoming blindness -- and bewitchingly imparts the hard-earned wisdom she has gained through the years.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Choosing to tell her debut novel from the point of view of a Mexican woman, North Carolina native Gershten produces a moving, convincing tale. Born in Teatl n (for which read Mazatl n) at mid-century long before it became a resort, narrator Guadalupe Magdalena Molina V squez embodies most of the contradictions of Mexico itself: she believes in love but is suspicious of men; she rejects religion but yearns for faith; and she respects tradition while breaking all the rules. The adult Magda describes her coming of age in the barrio, selling the corn-based drink tejuino in short shorts at age 14 and making more money than her father. Driven out of town three years later by the League of Decency--a cover for jealous wives--Magda becomes a go-go dancer in Tijuana, a rich rancher's wife in Monterrey, then marries a professor and lives in Idaho for a dozen years. Always, however, she is drawn back to Teatl n, even at the cost of being separated from her half-gringa daughter, Martina, for months at a time. Magda endures every form of abuse, and it is no surprise that the novel is dedicated to "all the whores in history." Magda may not be a winner in the tradition of unsinkable heroes, but she is not a loser, either. She is unafraid to use, learn and move on, and she is independent, determined not to succumb to the demands of her native country or her adopted one.
