Items related to The Red Virgin
Synopsis
English (translation)Original French, Spanish
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Reviews
Arrabal's ( The Tower Struck by Lightening ) fascinating novel offers a one-sided conversation in which a grieving mother addresses her daughter, whom she has murdered. As a young woman, the unnamed narrator discovered a book on alchemy that set her on the path of her life's work: to bear an "austere, brilliant, unique" child whose life would be dedicated to discovering the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. Her daughter, Vulcasais (named for fire and truth), is indeed brilliant, intellectually an adult at five years old. Concealed from the world by her watchful mother, she obediently slaves at their cellar furnace to distill elements into their purest form. Vulcasais's resistance to her life surfaces only in her secret diary, where she writes, "I am the princess of filth" and "Down with Science!" The girl's contact with the outer world is essentially limited to visits with Chevalier and Abelardo, their strangely chiasmatic neighbors (as one declines in health, the other flourishes--a situation that reverses periodically). But despite the narrator's resolute efforts to promote and control the quest for pure knowledge, elements beyond her reach converge to fatally undermine her ambition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Victimization and betrayal are frequently the themes of this Spanish writer, who saw plenty of both as a youth during his homeland's Civil War. Based on an actual case study and originally published in France in 1986, this novel examines the megalomania of an unwed woman who deliberately becomes pregnant in order to bear a child prodigy. Her daughter is educated at home in the sciences and in arcane languages so that she may pursue a kind of alchemy called The Work. The mother swells with pride as her offspring perseveres in her quest for all knowledge. But the daughter's reputation attracts the attention of researchers abroad, and when she begins to wonder if there isn't more to life than being locked up with Mom doing The Work, the inevitable confrontation occurs. A psychological and allegorical masterpiece of parental obsession, mind-control, alienation, and child abuse. Recommended for literary collections.
- Jack Shreve, Allegany Community Coll., Cumberland, Md.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The Red Virgin
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Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. With remainder mark. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Seller Inventory # D02L-00447
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The Red Virgin
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Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0140179216I5N00
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The Red Virgin
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Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0140179216I3N00
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The Red Virgin
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The Red Virgin - A Novel
Published by
Penguin Books, New York - London, 1993
ISBN 10: 0140179216
ISBN 13: 9780140179217
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Seller: Cameron-Wolfe Booksellers, Taos, NM, U.S.A.
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Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. Kathe Kollwitz (cover) (illustrator). The first English-language edition, translated from French and Spanish by Andrew Hurley. Arrabal's surreal, allegorical exploration of alchemy and mysticism. 248 pages, CONDITION: A bright, tight, square, uncreased copy with minimal edge- and corner-wear, unmarked but for a remainder line on the page-block bottom. Its pages show a faint hint of age-tanning. This handsome copy is now in a clear, protective polypropylene bag. Seller Inventory # IL770
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The red virgin : a novel / by Fernando Arrabal
Published by
New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books, 1993
ISBN 10: 0140179216
ISBN 13: 9780140179217
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Softcover
Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
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Reprint. Fine paperback copy. Classic Penguin/Allen Lane design. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright and clean. Physical description; (248 pages). Subjects; Mothers and daughters -- Fiction. Spain -- Fiction. English fiction. English fiction; 20th century. Drama. English literature; 20th century. English literature. 1 Kg. Seller Inventory # 363143
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The Red Virgin
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The red virgin : a novel / by Fernando Arrabal
Published by
New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books, 1993
ISBN 10: 0140179216
ISBN 13: 9780140179217
Used
Softcover
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Reprint. Fine paperback copy. Classic Penguin/Allen Lane design. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright and clean. Physical description; (248 pages). Subjects; Mothers and daughters -- Fiction. Spain -- Fiction. English fiction. English fiction; 20th century. Drama. English literature; 20th century. English literature. 1 Kg. Seller Inventory # 363143
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The Red Virgin. Translated from the Spanish and French by Andrew Hurley.
Published by
New York / London, Penguin Books, 1993
ISBN 10: 0140179216
ISBN 13: 9780140179217
Used
Softcover
First Edition
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Seller: Inanna Rare Books Ltd., Skibbereen, CORK, Ireland
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Sehr gut. First edition. 13 x 20cm. 248 pages. Original softcover in protective Mylar. Excellent condition. Inscribed / Signed by author on title page. Arrabal's fascinating novel offers a one-sided conversation in which a grieving mother addresses her daughter, whom she has murdered. As a young woman, the unnamed narrator discovered a book on alchemy that set her on the path of her life's work: to bear an "austere, brilliant, unique'' child whose life would be dedicated to discovering the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. Her daughter, Vulcasais (named for fire and truth), is indeed brilliant, intellectually an adult at five years old. Concealed from the world by her watchful mother, she obediently slaves at their cellar furnace to distill elements into their purest form. The girl's contact with the outer world is essentially limited to visits with Chevalier and Abelardo, their strangely chiasmatic neighbors (as one declines in health, the other flourishes--a situation that reverses periodically). But despite the narrator's resolute efforts to promote and control the quest for pure knowledge, elements beyond her reach converge to fatally undermine her ambition. [Publishers Weekly]. Seller Inventory # 90930AB
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