Recital of the Dark Verses is a road novel,a coming-of-age tale,and a raunchy slapstick comedy that tells-in careening,charismatic prose-the (true) story of the theft of the body of Saint John of the Cross.
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In August 1592,a bailiff and his two assistants arrive at the monastery of úbeda,with the secret task of transferring the body of Saint John of the Cross,the great Carmelite poet and mystic who had died the previous year,to his final abode. When they exhume him,they find a body uncorrupted and as fresh as when he died.
Recital of the Dark Verses follows the three hapless thieves as they sneak the corpse of Saint John of the Cross from úbeda to Segovia,trying not to lose too many pieces of the body to his frenzied disciples along the way. It is the (true) story of a heist,a road novel,a coming-of-age tale,and a raunchy slapstick comedy told in careening,charismatic prose. It is also a witty and wise commentary on the verse of one of Spain's most important poets woven from the lines for which he is best known-a revival of words written more than four centuries ago,and a centering and celebration of their intrinsic queerness.
Publisher: Deep Vellum PublishingISBN: 9781646052790Number of pages: 200Dimensions: 228 x 152 mm
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"Luis Felipe Fabre,one of the most original and provocative poets in Latin America,has written a genre-bending novel full of humor and a blazing intelligence."-Valeria Luiselli,author of Lost Children Archive and TheStory of My Teeth
"Absurd,philosophical,playful and episodic,Recital of the Dark Versesis a revelation. The theft of a saint's body creates the occasion for a hilarious road trip through provincial Spain. A cousin to Quixote,Fabre's historical novel takes history and religion and manages to shape it into something entirely new. By turns brilliant,wise,entertaining,and profound. Cervantes would be proud."-Mark Haber,author of Saint Sebastian's Abyss and Reinhardt's Garden
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