It is said that one never forgets one’s first love. But rarely does that love transcend all other things, becoming an obsession, a career, or a reason for living. First-time novelist and renowned literary critic Bruce-Novoa explores the very relationship between love and art in this highly lyrical and experimental novel set to the backdrop of the babyboomer era, especially as expressed in film, music and popular culture from the 1960s to the 1980s. The protagonist, a talented cinematographer, sees his beloved everywhere, in his mind as well as through the lens of his camera. Despite the turns of fortune that have determined Paul’s life, a series of lovers and even marriage to another, Paul clings to the hope of ultimately finding his true love and living out the rest of his life with her. Obsession and the fateful possibility of reunion are the suspenseful, driving forces behind this artful romance.
“…With characters you can relate to…it’s a recipe for success…”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A subtly innovative and surprisingly romantic novel by one of our foremost critics of Chicano literature.”
—John Rechy, author of City of Night and The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gómez
“Written with ease and care at the same time, profound and enjoyable, erotic and pure, the solid work is rich in insights, in tenderness, in intelligence and irony, and finally conquers what is hidden and what is there for all of us to see.”
—José Augustín
A native of Denver, Colorado, BRUCE-NOVOA has lectured on Mexican painting, Hollywood film and U.S. Colonial literature, publishing widely on a variety of subjects. He has taught at Yale, Harvard, Penn State, Trinity University, the University of California at Santa Barbara and Irvine, and Universitat Mainz and Universitat Erlangen-Nurenberg in Germany, holding positions in both Spanish and English departments.
Bruce-Novoa is the award-winning author of various articles and book, including: RetroSpace: Collected Essays on Chicano Literature (Arte Público Press, 1990), Chicano Authors: Inquiry by Interview and Chicano Poetry. Currently he is a professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California at Irvine and is working on a novel about the Berlin Wall.
