Singing softly/ Cantando Bajito

Author(s): Carmen De Monteflores

General Fiction

"A moving and powerful novel that explores how the forces of colonialism, misogyny and racism emerge in the lives of a family affected by this history. The language of the narrative is rich and evocative and the characters are both real and surreal in the intensity of imagination. An important book."--Susan Griffin "A novel worth reading."--New Directions for Women


Product Information


In this sensitive and lyrical first novel, de Monteflores writes of three generations of Puerto Rican women. The dialogue appears in Puerto Rican Spanish and then is translated, a technique that at first distracts the reader but soon becomes familiar as part of the author's poetic language. The memories of these women are intertwined with the story of Sena Alba, witch and midwife, who watches over them all. Their stories echo the conflicts between black and Spanish culture, between men and women, and within families. Though granddaughter Meli escapes some of these smothering conflicts in her flight to New York, she still recalls, "I hear the call to the wind abuelita taught me. It comes up in me suddenly, loosening memories. Language of the soul."-- Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, Ore.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

General Fields

  • : 933216629
  • : Spinsters Ink
  • : Spinsters Ink
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : PAPERBACK
  • : Carmen De Monteflores