A Santo in the Image of Cristobal Garcia - Hardcover

Collignon, Rick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039914921X ISBN 13: 9780399149214

Publisher: Blue Hen, 2002

Synopsis

The conclusion of the trilogy that began with The Journal of Antonio Montoya and Perdido trace the history of the the village of Guadalupe, New Mexico, as Flavio Montoya, the aged scion of the Montoya clan, returns to be accused by his fellow villagers of starting the fire that destroyed in th town. 15,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Rick Collignon has been writing seriously since 1989 and has since produced three novels. His first two, The Journal of Antonio Montoya and Perdido, received widespread acclaim and international recognition. He has lived in and around Taos, New Mexico for 30 years where he has maintained a writing career, a roofing business, and a family.

Reviews

Relying heavily on flashback, Collignon's final installment in his Guadalupe Trilogy (The Journal of Antonio Montoya; Perdido) takes place as a mysterious fire envelops the narrator's fictional New Mexico village. As a genre, magical realism strives to create a world in which strong emotions are physically manifested, as though the line between the subjective self and the objective universe has been unaccountably blurred. As Flavio Montoya is held under suspicion of having started the fire, the narrative explores his memories of his deceased wife and sister and his childhood growing up in Guadalupe. In Laura Esquivel fashion, special attention is paid to the descriptions of meal ingredients and preparation, fostering a sensuousness that belies some of the darker aspects of the tale. Ghosts appear, describing the hour of their deaths (and, cartoonishly, looking as they did when found deceased); a friend who has been silent for years due to a stroke suddenly speaks, implicating Flavio; a horrific witch is said to roam the village byways. Collignon also plumbs the deeply melancholy history of the town itself, beginning with the arrival, life and death of Crist¢bal Garcia, the town's founder. Perhaps the happiest moment of the book-Flavio's discovery of letters written to him by his deceased wife, meant to be read after her passing-is also tinged with sadness. Though it situates itself squarely in a tired genre, Collignon's book is not without merit. Dreamlike and melancholy, it is a worthy read, if slow-paced and often painfully-though not tritely-sentimental. Author tour.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Again set in the imaginary New Mexican village of Guadalupe, this final installment of a cycle begun with The Journal of Antonio Montoya and Perdido creates a self-contained mythic world nonetheless tightly tethered to reality. As in the earlier works, the narrative carries strong strains of the oral tradition: vivid and exact descriptions, an episodic approach to storytelling, and precisely drawn if unidimensional characters. The story re-creates the earlier history of the town from its initial settling until its final immolation, which makes it especially reminiscent of Garcia Marquez's magical realism. At the center of the novel is the elderly Flavio, accused of starting that awful fire, who is well known to Collignon's readers. Indeed, the author assumes familiarity with characters from the previous works, especially the first, so generally this new book won't mean much outside of their context. As such, it is recommended primarily for libraries that already own the earlier volumes.
Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In the final installment of his Guadalupe trilogy, Collignon deftly blends history and magic realism to create a moving account of the last day of family patriarch Flavio Montoya. In present day Guadalupe, New Mexico, a tiny town where the past freely interacts with the present, the elderly Flavio tends his family's depleted farm fields. When he sees his childhood friend Felix, now debilitated by a stroke, walking down from the mountain, it sets off a chain of events that leads to the town being set ablaze. In between, Collignon spirits the reader through many significant events, from the town's founding by Cristobal Garcia, a haunted farmer driven mad by the stresses of exploring a new region, to key points in Flavio's and Felix's lives. Throughout, Collignon pays homage to the power of storytelling, framing the central story with the tales that elder relatives and neighbors weave about the town's history. Collignon has constructed a fitting and evocative end to his trilogy. Brendan Dowling
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Blue Hen
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 039914921X
• ISBN 13: 9780399149214
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336