The Divine Husband
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A devout woman finds herself adrift in late nineteenth–century Central America in this novel of "deep imagination, stylistic verve, and psychological acuity" (The Washington Post).
Set in late nineteenth century Central America and New York City, The Divine Husband tells the story of María de las Nieves Moran, whose brief career as a nun is ended in the wake of revolution. Forced to make her way in the secular world, María is surrounded by an unforgettable cast of characters: José Martí, the poet and hero of Cuban independence and the first man María loves; Mack Chinchilla, the Yankee-Indio entrepreneur intent on winning her hand; a British diplomat setting up a political impostor plot; and Mathilde, the daughter whose birth—perhaps fathered by one of these men—ruins María's reputation and launches her on a journey toward a new future.
This joyfully imagined novel of ideas is populated by Indian girls, wandering Jewish coffee farmers, the founder of the rubber-balloon industry, and one of Latin America's greatest and most complex men. Written by Pulitzer Prize–finalist Francisco Goldman, The Divine Husband is a sweeping, poetic novel rich in historical detail and vivid characterization.
"Goldman echoes Flaubert, García Marquez, and even DeLillo." —Bookforum
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A starred review indicates a book of outstanding quality. A review with a blue-tinted title indicates a book of unusual commercial interest that hasn't received a starred review.THE DIVINE HUSBANDFrancisco Goldman. Atlantic Monthly, $24 (496p) The Guatemalan-American Goldman (The Ordinary Seaman, etc.) has used the often violent modern history of Central America as the backdrop of his two previous novels. His latest plunges back to the 19th century, telling the story of a woman who might have borne an illegitimate child of the great Cuban poet, Jose Mart . First a nun, then a translator for the British ambassador, Mar a de las Nieves Moran is involved with four men, one of whom is Jose Mart . Unfortunately, Mart never transcends his wooden theatricality as "the poet" in Goldman's narrative. Much more interesting are Mar a's three other suitors, especially Mar a's true love, a mysterious boy whom the ambassador has plucked out of obscurity and wants to make the king of the Mosquitoes, an Indian tribe on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. Certain sequences (a journey to the interior of the republic, the romance between Mar a and the "king" of the Mosquitos, etc.) are beautifully written. The narrative, however, loses his sense of what is central and what is peripheral. The novel suffers from too much clutter and the obsession with Mart , a bothersome McGuffin in an otherwise independently interesting story.
