The Cover of the book by Sandra Sanchez from Floricanto Press. http://www.floricantopress.com/news.htm
Like a tapestry woven over centuries of history, The Secret of a Long Journey (Floricanto Press 2012) by Sandra Shwayder Sanchez weaves in and out of the old world and the new, covering and converging stories from sixteenth century Flanders, the vast expanses of New Spain in North America, all the way to the United States of the twentieth century. The traditions of native Americans, the Catholic Church, and Kabalistic Jewry, practicing their religion under cover for fear of persecution, take on fluctuating and intersecting forms, and the characters from one generation to the next spread before us in familiar repeating patterns from birth to courtship to conception to birth again and from there to death, like beads arranged in a rosary, or in the adornments of an indian maiden.
This is not a novel in terms of traditional expectations; there is no clear cut plot whose suspense builds up to a climax, nor is there character development, for each person wanders onto the stage, goes through the motions of leading a life, and then departs into the next world, leaving behind another person to take his or her place and do pretty much the same. The genre is magical realism. The language is beautiful and enticing, and if you read it out loud to a child as a bedtime story, it does not matter so much where you begin reading and where you stop, the flow of the narrative will work its magic just the same.
The modern day episodes, concerning civil rights attorney Lois Gold, who battles on behalf of the disenfranchised in Colorado, have a grittier texture and the feel of reality, but the stories of the earlier centuries are lyrical and often read like a fairy tale, with intercession from the natural world, where animals and plants and the wind and the rain can be as powerful and as nurturing as any human.
In the weaving in and out of one tradition and another, the author shows how very much the same all these diverse myths and deities really are, and though assimilation occurs readily in the absence of persecution, the characters seemingly revel in persecution when it occurs, perhaps subconsciously longing to preserve their lost cultural heritage.
In a telling scene in one of the more realistic moments in the book, Russell Means, a native American activist,who is represented by Lois Gold for pouring fake blood on a Statue of Columbus as an act of protest against the state sanctioned holiday of Columbus Day, asks his attorney whether she has heard that Christopher Columbus was in fact a Marrano, a Jew who converted to avoid persecution, but who still practiced his religion in secret. Lois Gold replies that yes, she did know that. Then Means tells Gold that he admires the Jews, because they were able to preserve their culture for so long, and his own people were not very good at that. She replies that it goes back and forth, and that it’s only when the traditions are repressed by a government that the young people will fight to keep them alive. (Sanchez, The Secret of a Long Journey, p.110). Neither Means nor Gold follow this argument to its logical conclusion: that minorities need persecution to maintain their identity, because otherwise they disappear into the melting pot.
However, by and large, The Secret of a Long Journey is not an ideologically charged book. While it is written from a liberal perspective, it is more of a story about people battling the tides in the sea of time, making their journey from birth to death and stopping along the way to enjoy a little pleasure in the midst of all the sorrow. If you think you would like to read this book, please follow the link to Floricanto Press.
That sounds a fantastic books and the cover is just perfect. Thank you for bring this books to our attention.
Thanks, Hanna. If you do get a chance to read The Secret of a Long Journey, please drop by again and share your impressions of the book.
I should mention that the artist who so graciously allowed me to use her work on the cover is Catherine Robles Shaw, a friend, neighbor (here in Nederland) and award winning retablo artist. If you google her you will find many reproductions of her absolutely fabulous pieces.
Thanks, Sandy. I was wondering about the artist. I wasn’t able to find her credited in the book’s front matter. Did Floricanto ask you to recommend a piece of art for the cover?
No they didn’t ask but I did. I really wanted Catherine’s work on the cover and did give them the information for the cover credit so not sure why it isn’t there, but her name is mentioned in my Acknowlegements at the beginning and her website is just her name: http://www.catherineroblesshaw.com
It sounds like an interesting book, and maybe I will read it one day.
Thanks, Sweetbearies.
Hi Aya, Hanna, Sweetbearies
Thanks for the review and comments. The story of the publication of this book is itself a long journey starting with editorial turnover at Bantam back in the mid nineties, a couple of small presses going out of business and finally ending with the somewhat delayed release by Floricanto this coming April. Now I can die happy (as they say)
Sandy, I’m glad it finally did come out. Don’t die yet, I am sure there is more to come! Will the book be available on Amazon soon?
I assume that Floricanto will make the book available on amazon as well as selling it at bookstores. They have set the release date for April this year. I was joking of course about dying happy but honestly, anymore I spend so much time hiking in the mtns I haven’t written anything in ages. Finding homes for all the writing I did when I was younger, and now I listen to silence and the birds (omg like Mayken in the first chapter).
Sandy, as soon as The Secret of a Long Journey is available on Amazon, I will insert a link here, so people reading the review can click through to purchase. How long a delay was there in publication with Floricanto? Do you recommend them as a publisher?
The delay was a function not so much of the specific publisher but these times which are difficult for all small independent publishers, with Borders going out of business, Barnes & Noble being so difficult to deal with, the preference for kindles over old fashioned “real” books . . . once the book is released in April it will have been almost exactly two years since I signed a contract with Floricanto. A friend has told me that 18-24 months delay is becoming standard. I think we all have to remember the days of Maxwell Perkins are over. Roberto Cabello at Floricanto has always been cordial and appreciative and yes, if the subject fits (check out the website) I would recommend them.
Great review that gives Sandra the credit due her. I’ve read the book and absolutely loved it! Sandra writes with such poetic grace. The subject matter is unique and so telling of the hardships and dedication over generations. I’ve already recommended the book to many others and hope everyone who reads this review will pass the word along. The Secret of a Long Journey deserves a world-wide read.
Thanks, Linda! I’m glad you are helping to spread the word.
And such praise from a writer of Linda’s caliber (check out Beyond the Summit) is really exhilarating.