El Pie De Mi Padre

Criticas

In her latest novel, acclaimed Cuban exile writer Vald s recalls her poverty-stricken childhood and adolescence in Havana. Displaying the emotional lan that propelled her to prominence as a writer, Vald s avoids making this an autobiography, instead focusing on the yearnings of a young woman named Alma Desamparada ("Forsaken Soul") who dreams of meeting her father and of escaping the physical and mental poverty that surrounds her on the island. Convinced that only similarities between her father's feet and hers will prove his paternity, Alma looks for the father she never knew in the feet of every man. In the end, however, it is the search she conducts in her own soul that helps her overcome personal hardships and set out to live the life she dreams. While this book includes Vald s's signature graphic sexual dialog and depictions and her mercilessly judgmental characters, it also showcases her talent for stripping her heroines of their innocence and granting them a sense of enlightenment. Not since Te di la vida entera (I Gave You All I Had, Planeta, 1996) has she shown us such heartbreaking insight on the road from innocence to wisdom. Although Vald s's literary prose will appeal to serious readers, her language remains accessible, and the themes that she tackles will appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended for all libraries and bookstores with an interest in Cuban fiction. Oscar Corral, Coral Gables, FL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.