Queen of America Lib/E

ISBN 10: 1611133068 ISBN 13: 9781611133066

Publisher: Hachette Book Group, 2011

Synopsis

After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and Saint of Cabora, flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century America-New York, San Francisco, St. Louis. She meets immigrants and tycoons, European royalty and Cuban poets, all waking to the new American century. And as she decides what her own role in this modern future will be, she must ask herself: can a saint fall in love? At turns heartbreaking, uplifting, and riotously funny, Queen of America reconfirms Luis Alberto Urrea's status as a writer of the first rank.

About this title

About the Author:

Luis Alberto Urrea, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss, and triumph. Winner of a Lannan Literary Award and Christopher Award, he is also the recipient of an American Book Award, the Kiriyama Prize, the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Literary Award, a Western States Book Award, a Colorado Book Award, an Edgar Award, and a citation of excellence from the American Library Association. He is a member of the Latino Literary Hall of Fame. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, to a Mexican father and an American mother, he has published extensively in all the major genres. The critically acclaimed and bestselling author of over a dozen books, he has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction, and essays. After serving as a relief worker in Tijuana and a film extra and columnist-editor-cartoonist for several publications, he moved to Boston, where he taught expository writing and fiction workshops at Harvard. He has also taught at Massachusetts Bay Community College and the University of Colorado and was the writer in residence at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Review:

Lushly written and smartly told...Urrea's eloquent language and warm sense of humor enrich the narration, which acts as a biographical chronicle of the saint but one that is enlivened by a particularly fine novelist's view of her world.

-- "Oregonian"

Enchanting...Fantastical...Urrea has stitched a seamless end to the saga.

-- "New York Times Book Review"

Colorful [and] exuberant.

-- "Wall Street Journal"

Urrea delights in the texture of things. Turn-of-the-century America, particularly New York, comes alive at his fingertips: he sees both the silk and the mud... In imagining the story of his great-aunt Teresita, Urrea might have chosen to make her a hero; that would have been easier. What we get is more complicated, more modern...Hers is the story of what it means to have a gift, and how a talent can also be a burden.

-- "Los Angeles Times"

'Who is more of an outlaw than a saint?' one of Luis Urrea's characters poses. The answer is this ferocious, ribald romance of the border. Jaunty, bawdy, gritty, sweet, Queen of America has a bottomless comic energy and a heart large enough to accept-even revel in-all of human folly.

-- "Stewart O'Nan, author of Emily Alone "

A magnificent work of literary alchemy, so masterfully infused with myth and history, you will feel these characters in your heart, your gut. You will grieve for their immortal souls.

-- "Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet"

A gritty, bold, and much-anticipated sequel to The Hummingbird's Daughter... Fiercely romantic and at times heart-breaking but also full of humor, Urrea's latest novel blends fairy tale, Western adventure, folk tale, and historical drama. Fans of Hummingbird and readers new to Urrea's work will surely enjoy this magnificent, epic novel.

-- "Library Journal"

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Book Group
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1611133068
• ISBN 13: 9781611133066
• Binding: Audio CD