What do you think?
Rate this book
Hunger's Brides
On a frigid winter's night, a man escapes from an apartment in which a young woman lies bleeding. In his hands he clutches a box he has found there. He is Donald Gregory, a once-respected college professor and serial adulterer, whose last affair has left his career in ruins. She is Beulah Limosneros, one of his students and for a brief time his lover.
Beulah had disappeared into Mexico two years earlier, following her obsession with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, who was born in 1648, entered a convent at age nineteen, and became the greatest poet of her time, only to die of plague in 1695. As a police investigation closes in around Gregory, he examines the box's contents, fearful of incriminating evidence Beulah may have against him—translated poems of Sor Juana, a travel journal, research notes on the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the Inquisition, diary entries concerning him, and a strange manuscript about Sor Juana.
Based on the life of one of literature's most compelling figures, Paul Anderson's astonishing debut unveils a great poet's withdrawal from the world who at the height of her creative powers signs a vow of contrition in her own blood.
Beulah had disappeared into Mexico two years earlier, following her obsession with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, who was born in 1648, entered a convent at age nineteen, and became the greatest poet of her time, only to die of plague in 1695. As a police investigation closes in around Gregory, he examines the box's contents, fearful of incriminating evidence Beulah may have against him—translated poems of Sor Juana, a travel journal, research notes on the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the Inquisition, diary entries concerning him, and a strange manuscript about Sor Juana.
Based on the life of one of literature's most compelling figures, Paul Anderson's astonishing debut unveils a great poet's withdrawal from the world who at the height of her creative powers signs a vow of contrition in her own blood.
1360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
36 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
About the author
W. Paul Anderson
1 book12 followersAnderson left Canada in his early twenties and spent fifteen years travelling in Asia, studying in Europe, teaching in Latin America, along the way logging 25,000 miles of coastal and ocean sailing, having twice crossed the Atlantic as a delivery sailor, and has partnered in a sailing charter operation in the Caribbean. He has worked as a deckhand in Monte Carlo, fruit picker in Switzerland and construction worker in Australia.
Excerpts from Hunger's Brides have appeared in Queen Street Quarterly and Prairie Fire, in the Banff Writer’s Studio anthology Rip Rap, and in the cultural supplement of the Mexico City daily La Crónica. In 1996, Calgary’s legendary One Yellow Rabbit performance theatre toured a dramatic reading adapted from the manuscript by the author, and performed in the convent where Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the central character of the novel Hunger’s Brides, lived out her life.
Hunger's Brides has been a selected as a Kiriyama Pacific-Rim Prize Notable Book, finalist for a Commonwealth Writers prize, and finalist for a W.O. Mitchell Prize. In 2005, Hunger's Brides was named Writers Guild of Alberta novel of the year.
Anderson lives for the moment in Canada.
Excerpts from Hunger's Brides have appeared in Queen Street Quarterly and Prairie Fire, in the Banff Writer’s Studio anthology Rip Rap, and in the cultural supplement of the Mexico City daily La Crónica. In 1996, Calgary’s legendary One Yellow Rabbit performance theatre toured a dramatic reading adapted from the manuscript by the author, and performed in the convent where Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the central character of the novel Hunger’s Brides, lived out her life.
Hunger's Brides has been a selected as a Kiriyama Pacific-Rim Prize Notable Book, finalist for a Commonwealth Writers prize, and finalist for a W.O. Mitchell Prize. In 2005, Hunger's Brides was named Writers Guild of Alberta novel of the year.
Anderson lives for the moment in Canada.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
November 6, 2007
A huge doorstopper of a book. A disgraced Calgary academic digs through the papers of his former student/lover, uncovering the tale of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a seventeenth-century Mexican nun, poet, writer, and early feminist, who abruptly signed a vow of silence and died helping plague victims. (The nun is real. The academic and his student, one devoutly hopes, are fictional.) Complex and engrossing, with neat postmodern footnotes.
October 25, 2022
I have to admit this turned into a bit of a slog. A case of a novel perhaps benefiting from a bit of editing.
October 26, 2015
Massive, a giant doorstop of a book but utterly hypnotic. There's two narrative threads, a modern-day tale of manuscripts and academics, the other the story of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a scholar and poet in the early years of post-conquest America. Her story is more fascinating than the modern one and, indeed, author Anderson has recognized that reissuing the book stripped of the modern narrative. Nevertheless I loved it but for fans of the long read only.
August 10, 2008
I read a lot. Big books, small books, it doesn't matter; I read fast so I'll just finish them and move onto the next. I received this one as a birthday gift in February and I found it so not engrossing that I put it down periodically and read 3 others in between periods of just not wanting to read it. The only reasons that I did finish it was because I'm the type of person who can't leave a book unfinished and it was a gift from my husband.
January 4, 2010
so thick. so detailed. so disturbing.
I'm an avid lover of the history and poetry of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz.
The imagery is vivid and the connections/parallelisms made is excruciating but tenderly described.
I've literally never read a book like it. I would pick it up, read through parts of it, and put it down. I've ripped out poems (translated and put in the book) and put them on my walls.
Good book, but its not an easy read.
I'm an avid lover of the history and poetry of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz.
The imagery is vivid and the connections/parallelisms made is excruciating but tenderly described.
I've literally never read a book like it. I would pick it up, read through parts of it, and put it down. I've ripped out poems (translated and put in the book) and put them on my walls.
Good book, but its not an easy read.
February 27, 2012
The word 'magisterial' is more often used when referring to non-fiction works of great scope and comprehensiveness but it totally fits Hunger's Brides. Anderson weaves together past and present in this novel about Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, the real-life brilliant poet-scientist-philosopher who lived in 17th century Mexico, and ran afoul of the Inquisition and the leaders of the Church who were confounded by the intelligence of this "weaker vessel." In a time when women were not expected to be much more than decorative objects, their interests confined solely to domestic concerns, Sor Juana's mastery of Latin and logic and her defense of science and of the rights of the native people put her at odds with both Church and State. Hunger's Bride is also about the modern-day brilliant graduate student, Beulah Lismoneros, who becomes obsessed with Sor Juana but who has her own demons to fight and whose trip to Mexico in search of Sor Juana ends badly in a way reminiscent of The Sheltering Sky. Beulah's story is told partly in the first person and partly from the perspective of the university professor whose affair with her results in his fall from grace.
It was interesting reading this at the same time as 72 Hour Hold in which we get a mother's perspective on her daughter's mental illness because, in Hunger's Brides, we hear directly from Beulah who is also troubled by bipolar disorder. (Can't remember if that was the exact diagnosis given but she had a lot of the behavior patterns exhbited by Campbell's Trina.)
It was interesting reading this at the same time as 72 Hour Hold in which we get a mother's perspective on her daughter's mental illness because, in Hunger's Brides, we hear directly from Beulah who is also troubled by bipolar disorder. (Can't remember if that was the exact diagnosis given but she had a lot of the behavior patterns exhbited by Campbell's Trina.)
January 1, 2021
I was browsing books at Goodwill back in 2013 or so and came across Hunger's Brides. I noticed it because it was so. much. bigger. than every other book on the fiction shelf and I love me a long read. And at 1358 pages (not including end notes) this is a chonker of a book.
It's also a really complicated book to review because it's 3 interrelated tales that aren't equally well written or compelling. The primary story is the biography of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a 17th c. Mexican Hieronymite nun, poet, and philosopher who had the ill-fortune of outshining every male scholar in Mexico. Sor Juana's story is so engaging and has so much depth that I easily got lost in it.
I can't say the same for the tale of Beulah Limosneros - a bipolar grad student obsessed with Sor Juana who disappears while attempting to retrace the nun's life and is then found near death from an attack - or Don Gregory, her douchy former university advisor and lover who, while trying to find Beulah, becomes a suspect in the attack. In contrast to the straightforward but lovingly written tale of Sor Juana, these two narratives were both chaotic and pretentiously navel-gaze-y. Whenever I was reading either of these narratives, I found myself almost skimming in order to get back to Sor Juana's story, partly because the writing was so much better, partly because I just didn't give a shit about Donny Douchebag or Beulah HotMess or their entanglement.
I would say this book is worth the effort - I gave it 4 stars and I'm glad I powered through it - but I discovered that Anderson also released "Sor Juana or the Breath of Heaven: The Essential Story from the Epic, Hunger's Brides" which, as the title indicates, is JUST Sor Juana's tale. So, I'd say skip the doorstop and pick the single tale up instead.
It's also a really complicated book to review because it's 3 interrelated tales that aren't equally well written or compelling. The primary story is the biography of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a 17th c. Mexican Hieronymite nun, poet, and philosopher who had the ill-fortune of outshining every male scholar in Mexico. Sor Juana's story is so engaging and has so much depth that I easily got lost in it.
I can't say the same for the tale of Beulah Limosneros - a bipolar grad student obsessed with Sor Juana who disappears while attempting to retrace the nun's life and is then found near death from an attack - or Don Gregory, her douchy former university advisor and lover who, while trying to find Beulah, becomes a suspect in the attack. In contrast to the straightforward but lovingly written tale of Sor Juana, these two narratives were both chaotic and pretentiously navel-gaze-y. Whenever I was reading either of these narratives, I found myself almost skimming in order to get back to Sor Juana's story, partly because the writing was so much better, partly because I just didn't give a shit about Donny Douchebag or Beulah HotMess or their entanglement.
I would say this book is worth the effort - I gave it 4 stars and I'm glad I powered through it - but I discovered that Anderson also released "Sor Juana or the Breath of Heaven: The Essential Story from the Epic, Hunger's Brides" which, as the title indicates, is JUST Sor Juana's tale. So, I'd say skip the doorstop and pick the single tale up instead.
June 30, 2017
Difficult reading. I've put it down for now to read other things I've place higher on my 'to read' list. I think I'll not finish this until I get my Kindle because its such a large book its cumbersome to read.
The story can be quite engrossing at points, but it is this amazingly panoramic description of all the details of an era and culture that are unfamiliar to me, so that makes it difficult to digest quickly.
The story can be quite engrossing at points, but it is this amazingly panoramic description of all the details of an era and culture that are unfamiliar to me, so that makes it difficult to digest quickly.
November 16, 2017
What an absolutely incredible immersive experience this book was to read! Absolutely wonderful amazing read - but not to be read lightly or purely for escape. Are there things that I did not like - a few but the over-arching feeling I have about this book is that it is magnificent and that I loved it. Loved Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, her poetry, her story. Felt little liking or sympathy for the contemporary characters; yet I will be thinking about them - as well as Sor Juana -- for a very long time.
This is essentially two stories in one: That of (fictional) troubled, brilliant, beautiful Beulah, a graduate student whose life spirals out of control between 1990 - 1995, all while she is researching and writing about Sor Juana, a 17th Century Mexican nun, a real historical figure, who is one of the greatest Baroque poets, intellectual, and feminist, who was essentially unknown until about 1940. Oh yeah - women's historians take note -- yet again an example of the suppression of the role of women in history and literature. There are three other intertwined narrators -- Prof. Gregory (Beulah's advisor and sometime lover), Don Carlos (friend of Sor Juana), and Antonia (Sor Juana's secretary/friend), but only Prof. Gregory has a voice - and a role throughout the narrative.
I should mention that Beulah and Sor Juana are the 'brides' of the title, and 'hunger' is referring lust as much as hunger - as in lust or hunger for knowledge. While sexual lust does play a role, the real 'hunger' here is for knowledge, learning, information.
Each narrator has a distinct voice and this book has everything - prose, poetry (much of Sor Juana's surviving poetry is here provided in both Spanish and in translation), diary entries, letters, court, tribunal and inquisition (that's Mexican Inquisition of the 17th Century) reports, footnotes (written as if from viewpoint of one of the narrators), bibliography, mythology, philosophical and religious (Jesuit vs. Dominican) tracts. I think only thing missing was a map or two.
I was extremely grateful for my Ivy League education as this tome is rich in classical and modern literary and philosophical references, and that education really helped me . I had to brush up on my history a bit too -- it was pretty shocking how little Mexican history I knew, and I studied a lot of history in college! In thinking about it, European and US history are emphasized, almost to the exclusion of any other. Definitely am now intrigued to read more Mexican literature and history.
I also absolutely loved Sor Juana's poetry. She was also a fierce proponent of education for women, and a true feminist long before that term was coined. Her life story is remarkable.
This was my 2017 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge book with 800+ pages -- it has a whopping 1,323. Took me 5 weeks to read this - not a fast or easy read, but a rich, enjoyable one.
This is essentially two stories in one: That of (fictional) troubled, brilliant, beautiful Beulah, a graduate student whose life spirals out of control between 1990 - 1995, all while she is researching and writing about Sor Juana, a 17th Century Mexican nun, a real historical figure, who is one of the greatest Baroque poets, intellectual, and feminist, who was essentially unknown until about 1940. Oh yeah - women's historians take note -- yet again an example of the suppression of the role of women in history and literature. There are three other intertwined narrators -- Prof. Gregory (Beulah's advisor and sometime lover), Don Carlos (friend of Sor Juana), and Antonia (Sor Juana's secretary/friend), but only Prof. Gregory has a voice - and a role throughout the narrative.
I should mention that Beulah and Sor Juana are the 'brides' of the title, and 'hunger' is referring lust as much as hunger - as in lust or hunger for knowledge. While sexual lust does play a role, the real 'hunger' here is for knowledge, learning, information.
Each narrator has a distinct voice and this book has everything - prose, poetry (much of Sor Juana's surviving poetry is here provided in both Spanish and in translation), diary entries, letters, court, tribunal and inquisition (that's Mexican Inquisition of the 17th Century) reports, footnotes (written as if from viewpoint of one of the narrators), bibliography, mythology, philosophical and religious (Jesuit vs. Dominican) tracts. I think only thing missing was a map or two.
I was extremely grateful for my Ivy League education as this tome is rich in classical and modern literary and philosophical references, and that education really helped me . I had to brush up on my history a bit too -- it was pretty shocking how little Mexican history I knew, and I studied a lot of history in college! In thinking about it, European and US history are emphasized, almost to the exclusion of any other. Definitely am now intrigued to read more Mexican literature and history.
I also absolutely loved Sor Juana's poetry. She was also a fierce proponent of education for women, and a true feminist long before that term was coined. Her life story is remarkable.
This was my 2017 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge book with 800+ pages -- it has a whopping 1,323. Took me 5 weeks to read this - not a fast or easy read, but a rich, enjoyable one.
June 9, 2015
Not just a waste of paper, a 1,325-page waste of paper! Somewhere in here was an OK 400-page historical novel about Juana Inez de la Cruz, a 17th century Mexican nun who was considered by some (according to the book flap) "the greatest writer working in any European tongue". She was born in Mexico and never left, despite reading and writing extensively in Latin about Roman, Greek, and Egyptian classics. Her ideas kept her in trouble with the Inquisition through must of her adult life, which she spent as a nun.
The rest of the wasted paper is an unreadable modern mystery written in psychobabble about a philandering professor who has taken up with a student who is writing up Juana's story as a thesis and becomes pathetically enthralled with the research. Something really bad happens, either she kills herself in a ceremony or he kills her or something, and if the explanation is actually on one of those 1,325 pages it must have been after my eyes had glazed over and I skimmed past it.
Vickie was right--looking at the size of the book and finding it was a FIRST novel, she said (knowing nothing else about it): that is very presumptuous of a first novel. Judge a book by its container, and stay away from 1,325 page first novels.
The rest of the wasted paper is an unreadable modern mystery written in psychobabble about a philandering professor who has taken up with a student who is writing up Juana's story as a thesis and becomes pathetically enthralled with the research. Something really bad happens, either she kills herself in a ceremony or he kills her or something, and if the explanation is actually on one of those 1,325 pages it must have been after my eyes had glazed over and I skimmed past it.
Vickie was right--looking at the size of the book and finding it was a FIRST novel, she said (knowing nothing else about it): that is very presumptuous of a first novel. Judge a book by its container, and stay away from 1,325 page first novels.
tried-but-couldn-t-finish
September 16, 2008I did get started on this, but this book is oppressively heavy, I couldn't cart it around on my recent business trips therefore it got left behind. Now I've started another book, so I'll have to finish that before I come back here. I just can't deal with multiple story lines, it's like trying to watch two movies at the same time, I just can't do it!
Read
October 15, 2009I've been trying to get through this tome of a book for a few years now. It's sad really.
August 28, 2019
book that introduced me to sor juana's life -
May 27, 2025
Ich bin sehr froh, dass ich auf meiner Zugfahrt die Zeit hatte, das Buch in relativ kurzer Zeit lesen zu können. Sonst hätte ich mich nur schwer in der Handlung halten können. Die Geschichte von Sor Juana ist absolut faszinierend. Intellektuell ist sie sicherlich ihrer Zeit voraus. Aber ich habe auch das Gefühl, dass sie von ihren Gefühlen her nie wirklich erwachsen geworden ist. Wenn sie eine Ungerechtigkeit wittert, reagiert sie auch als erwachsene Frau oft wie das junge Mädchen, das sie war. Manchmal sieht sie Dinge nicht, die für andere deutlich sichtbar sind. Das liegt meiner Meinung nach daran, dass sie sich manches einfach nicht vorstellen kann oder will.
Beulahs Geschichte fand ich manchmal sehr passend zu der von Sor Juana, manchmal hatten die beiden Geschichten für mich aber absolut nichts miteinander zu tun.
Die beiden Frauen sind absolut gegensätzlich. Während ich Juana gerne zugehört habe, fand ich Beulahs Erzählung bzw. die ihres Geliebten oft eher nervig. Die Beziehung der beiden ist seltsam. Sie wirkt auf mich so, als ob Beide von Anfang an darauf aus waren, mit ihrer Beziehung Schaden anzurichten. Als der dann passiert, wirken sie eher verwundert darüber. Deshalb hatte ich oft das Gefühl, dass die beiden Geschichten besser nicht in ein und demselben Roman erzählt worden wären.
So stehe ich mit meiner Meinung mittendrin. Hungersbräute hat mir weder besonders gut, noch besonders schlecht gefallen. An die Lektüre werde ich mich trotzdem wahrscheinlich noch längere Zeit erinnern.
Beulahs Geschichte fand ich manchmal sehr passend zu der von Sor Juana, manchmal hatten die beiden Geschichten für mich aber absolut nichts miteinander zu tun.
Die beiden Frauen sind absolut gegensätzlich. Während ich Juana gerne zugehört habe, fand ich Beulahs Erzählung bzw. die ihres Geliebten oft eher nervig. Die Beziehung der beiden ist seltsam. Sie wirkt auf mich so, als ob Beide von Anfang an darauf aus waren, mit ihrer Beziehung Schaden anzurichten. Als der dann passiert, wirken sie eher verwundert darüber. Deshalb hatte ich oft das Gefühl, dass die beiden Geschichten besser nicht in ein und demselben Roman erzählt worden wären.
So stehe ich mit meiner Meinung mittendrin. Hungersbräute hat mir weder besonders gut, noch besonders schlecht gefallen. An die Lektüre werde ich mich trotzdem wahrscheinlich noch längere Zeit erinnern.
August 24, 2024
This story was very interesting. Probably 500 pages too long, but overall a good story!
Hunger's Brides is an ambitious and sprawling historical novel that delves deep into the turbulent times of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Set against the backdrop of the Aztec Empire’s fall, the novel weaves together historical facts with intricate fiction to create a compelling narrative that is both informative and engaging.
At its core, Hunger's Brides explores the clash of civilizations between the Aztecs and the Spanish conquistadors, focusing on the intersecting lives of various characters caught in the turmoil. Anderson employs a richly detailed setting, immersing readers in the grandeur and brutality of the era.
This is a richly layered historical novel that offers a deep and nuanced exploration of one of history’s most dramatic confrontations. While its ambitious scope may challenge some readers, those who appreciate a thorough and immersive historical narrative will find it a rewarding read.
Hunger's Brides is an ambitious and sprawling historical novel that delves deep into the turbulent times of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Set against the backdrop of the Aztec Empire’s fall, the novel weaves together historical facts with intricate fiction to create a compelling narrative that is both informative and engaging.
At its core, Hunger's Brides explores the clash of civilizations between the Aztecs and the Spanish conquistadors, focusing on the intersecting lives of various characters caught in the turmoil. Anderson employs a richly detailed setting, immersing readers in the grandeur and brutality of the era.
This is a richly layered historical novel that offers a deep and nuanced exploration of one of history’s most dramatic confrontations. While its ambitious scope may challenge some readers, those who appreciate a thorough and immersive historical narrative will find it a rewarding read.
October 19, 2019
DNF. Too heady at a time I needed brain candy
Read
May 8, 2021I wanted to love it. I didn’t.
September 10, 2022
I wanted to like this book. It sounded interesting but I got about 200 pages in and just couldn’t do it anymore.
October 22, 2025
My first thoughts available in this video: https://youtu.be/yhAEmce0maI?si=sN3lo...
(Will update when I make a longer review!)
(Will update when I make a longer review!)
April 6, 2010
What an impressive novel, made all the more so when you realize that this is Paul Anderson's debut. I enjoyed this book so much that the number of pages just flew by.
The story: compelling and forward-moving.
The language: EDIBLE! Such beautiful imagery.
The characters: flawed, well-drawn and realistic.
I loved it. I know that this would not be a novel for everyone. The sheer size of it is very daunting. But if you love things Baroque, aren't araid o a little challenge and have a little time on your hands, you won't be disappointed.
I look forward to his next book!
The story: compelling and forward-moving.
The language: EDIBLE! Such beautiful imagery.
The characters: flawed, well-drawn and realistic.
I loved it. I know that this would not be a novel for everyone. The sheer size of it is very daunting. But if you love things Baroque, aren't araid o a little challenge and have a little time on your hands, you won't be disappointed.
I look forward to his next book!
August 19, 2009
I first want to say that this book is also a fine example of contemporary book printing. Truly, the only thing missing from this book is a colophon. At 1360 pages, it is still a pleasure to hold. The paper is satin smooth, the text block perfectly crisp.
I freely admit I did not finish this book before my renewals ran out and the fall semester began, but it is one I will check out again, fall or holiday break, to immerse in again. At present, I cannot do justice to a description, much less a review. This is a book to which I will return.
I freely admit I did not finish this book before my renewals ran out and the fall semester began, but it is one I will check out again, fall or holiday break, to immerse in again. At present, I cannot do justice to a description, much less a review. This is a book to which I will return.
December 8, 2009
I only kind of enjoyed the little of this book that I read. The premise is intriguing and the writing has moments of beauty, but it's a bit of a slog! The story jumps between three different time periods, multiple characters, lucid writing, poetry and stream of consciousness journal entries (a writing style I have never enjoyed). I believe life is too short to read bad books (or annoying books), so I'm putting this one aside for now.
March 19, 2021
Wow, this book is incredible. It’s long, but also so interesting. I didn’t know about Sor Juana de la Cruz before reading this book and she is now one of my hero’s. What an incredible women in history. I also wasn’t much on poetry before reading this book, but it taught me to read poetry you need to slow down and take it in. There were interesting, scary, disturbing, inspiring moments in this book. It really makes you think, ponder and reflect.
August 27, 2008
I picked this book up several months ago and tried to read it. I admit that I was not very focused on it and was reading another "Lighter" read at the time. I put it down and just picked up last night. Already it is a bit hard to follow. I will read this on the plane and while I am in Florida.
It's a very descriptive book and I like that in my reads.
It's a very descriptive book and I like that in my reads.
October 8, 2012
Very Long. The history of 17th Century Mexico was interesting. The author wove a modern day mystery of a college professor who was supposed to have written the book. I skipped over these parts - which were about 1/3 of the book. I would not read it again but will pursue this time period for more information.
November 27, 2014
This was one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It is about 1500 pages long. The author won Canada's top literature award for his effort and it was well deserved. I hope someday, maybe in retirement, to be able to slowly read it again and to research and follow up on all of the historical and mythological allusions.
August 18, 2008
it's the end of the summer and I give up! I read the first five hundred pages before having to skim through it. I know I was obsessed about Sor Juana; but I couldn't make it through this larger tome of her life (or how it was imagined anyway). Maybe I can carefully read it next summer!
April 25, 2015
This is one of my favourite books - I have read it twice now and will probably read it again in a few years! The characters and imagery are endlessly fascinating. The poetry is beautiful.
I have read it three times now. still wonderful. it would be amazing to have a book of her poetry alone
I have read it three times now. still wonderful. it would be amazing to have a book of her poetry alone
started-then-set-aside
November 27, 2008i've only read a chapter of this and even at 1358 pages, it is completely engrossing, the language beautiful and the subject (Sor Juana) utterly fascinating.
July 3, 2008
One of the only LONG books I have struggled to finish, worth it but DENSE with arcane cosmological discussion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews