la vida vista desde las tinieblas de una mente retorcida, de una casa en decadencia, de una muerte que se retrasa y no llega y que es liberacion de podredumbre de la carne. el autor se enfrenta con la decadencia frente a frente y nos da este cuadro de horror. y esa trama tan bien hecha, esos planes de nuestro querido narrador humberto penaloza, alias el mudito, que nos lleva por la novela por caminos que no sabemos cuando terminan sus suenos y cuando empieza su realidad. el plan de la educacion de boy, su aljamiento del mundo, fantasia, realidad? la vejes, vista como decadencia y como fuerza a la vez, fuerza por las cosas que se saben al traves de los anos, las verguenzas que se tapan, los secretos que se esconden, fuerza para ser el patron de tus patrones, para manipularlos con tu humildad.... y ese nino que va a nacer, debe de ser nuestro, estar al servicio de la decadencia, ser nuestro imbunche, depender de nosotros, estar cosido,no caminar ni hablar, que todo dependa de nosotras, las viejas y ahora que soy una de ellas, ya deje de ser luis mendez el que escribe para ser una de ellas de las viejas que comparten el secreto de la iris mateluna, de la guagua milagrosa que va a nacer y de la que yo tambien sere parte y cuidadora porque quiero ir al cielo cuando se vaya y que me lleve con el y me saque de este martirio de tener que observar a jeronimo y ser su lacayo, estar a su servicio. dejare de ser una presencia sobre la que los ojos resbalan para ser una vieja. bueno al menos se que sere alguien y no como mi padre un ser simple admirando la belleza desde lejos, yo estare del otro lado de las cosas bellas, pero no en la mediocridad de sus ojos melancolicos que me miran y miran las vitrinas de lo que no puede comprar y de lo que jamas podra ser.... humberto penaloza.

LUIS MENDEZ luismendez@codetel.net.do

This book is a true masterpiece into hallucinatory writing. Donoso captures the essence of classical latin american magical realism while flickering between narratives and schizophrenia. A truely touching novel, full of life, imagery, love and disgust. A masterpiece.

I read this book several years ago and was so impressed with the research, the detail, the style and the care that Tony Martin took to tell the Marcus Garvey story.

It is a wonderfully balanced look at his successes, his failures, his faith in God and most of all his impact on our nation.

I highly recommend this to history lovers of all backgrounds. You won't be disappointed.

Dr. Tony Martin has provided an in-depth historical account and analysis of Marcus Garvey's heroic agitation on behalf of African people's freedom world-wide.

Dr. Martin effectively conveys a sense of the profound mission on which Marcus Garvey launched himself and his organization, the UNIA. Garvey understood the importance of psychology as well as economics and Dr. Martin's book describes his efforts, successful and unsuccessful, to achieve his very ambitious goals.

"Race First", for example, lists the states and countries that were the homes of the 996 chapters of the UNIA on five continents and in the Caribbean. Dr. Martin also describes how the U.S. and colonial governments conspired to block the UNIA's program and even the distribution of its newspaper (printed in three languages).

This book is indispensable to understanding modern American, African and world history and especially to understanding the "Black/African Nationalist" impulse of Africans in the Diaspora.

This is a fascinating treatment in the thriller genre of a frighteningly credible possibility. The novel races along with no letup in tension. Apart from being good entertainment - it would make a great film introducing new twists to the action adventure film - the story shows an originality of thought and idea that make it more than a run of the mill thriller.The author shows imaginative flair coupled with an ability to draw the reader into the dilemmas that confront the characters. There are no easy solutions in this thriller.

A Great Read. The pages just flew by - a must for anybody looking for a book with an original theme, great characters and a very thought provoking topic.

jam-packed with a defining period of history including every day life of a certain slice of America, seasoned with sweetness and optimism. I liked it very much.

This was my casebook for my first-year Civil Procedure class, and although I was not thrilled with the prospects of spending a year sorting through the quagmire of the F.R.Civ.P. this book made life and the rules much easier. If you have a choice as to which casebook to use, I would recommend this one.

The book moves swiftly through a tumultous period, and seems to stick to a historically accurate factual outline of the Seminole War in Florida. It is mostly an engrossing read.

This "historical novel" is probably more true than any of us would care to admit. We know that slaves and Indians were brutally treated throughout the period, and we know that the atrocities depicted continue to happen around the world to this day.

However, the fictionalized parts wallow in such unnecessarily graphic detail that the label "Pornography" comes to mind. It is disappointing because this book could have been so much better than it is - the explicitness is just jarring in places and generally seems forced and doesn't add to the compelling story.

I'd heard an interview with the deceased author's companion which led me to purchase the book. I planned when I finished it myself to encourage my 12-year-old to read it, since it is about a truly heroic figure. Now I just want to get the book out of the house. What a shame.

Knowing the friend of this author.she advised me that the author has sadly passed away,,,perhaps one day will be a movie..Lets get Joel Silver prod,to look into it...PERHAPS