Sapogonia

by Ana Castillo

A New York Times Notable Book • "A complex, engaging novel... Sapogonia will establish Castillo as one of our finest Chicana novelists." --Rudolfo Anaya

The author of So Far From God , Ana Castillo confronts the complex issues of race and identity facing those of mixed heritage through the struggles of Máximo Madrigal, an expatriate of Sapogonia, the metaphorical homeleand of all mestizos. Subtly political, it demonstrates how warring blood within a single body resists any peaceful resolution.

Genres: Fiction, Literature

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Ana Castillo (June 15, 1953-) is a celebrated and distinguished poet, novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator and independent scholar. Castillo was born and raised in Chicago. She has contributed to periodicals and on-line venues (Salon and Oxygen) and national magazines, including More and the Sunday New York Times. Castillo’s writings have been the subject of numerous scholarly investigations and publications. Among her award winning, best sellling titles: novels include So Far From God, The Guardians and Peel My Love like an Onion, among other poetry: I Ask the Impossible. Her novel, Sapogonia was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She has been profiled and interviewed on National Public Radio and the History Channel and was a radio-essayist with NPR in Chicago. Ana Castillo is editor of La Tolteca, an arts and literary ‘zine dedicated to the advancement of a world without borders and censorship and was on the advisory board of the new American Writers Museum, which opened its door in Chicago, 2017. In 2014 Dr. Castillo held the Lund-Gil Endowed Chair at Dominican University, River Forest, IL and served on the faculty with Bread Loaf Summer Program (Middlebury College) in 2015 and 2016. She also held the first Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Endowed Chair at DePaul University, The Martin Luther King, Jr Distinguished Visiting Scholar post at M.I.T. and was the Poet-in-Residence at Westminster College in Utah in 2012, among other teaching posts throughout her extensive career. Ana Castillo holds an M.A from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D., University of Bremen, Germany in American Studies and an honorary doctorate from Colby College. She received an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation for her first novel, The Mixquiahuala Letters. Her other awards include a Carl Sandburg Award, a Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in fiction and poetry. She was also awarded a 1998 Sor Juana Achievement Award by the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in Chicago. Dr. Castillo’s So Far From God and Loverboys are two titles on the banned book list controversy with the TUSD in Arizona. 2013 Recipient of the American Studies Association Gloria Anzaldúa Prize to an independent scholar. via www.anacastillo.net

Reviews

[Geoffrey Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost an improbable romance novel between two major characters who don't really seem to be able to /know how to deal with their culturally defined lots in life.Characters well drawn & developed; this novel is driven by the characters, not a story line: not something I've read done very often.

[Alejandro Granados · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written in a way that spans great distances and lengths of time in a fluid way. The relationship between Max and Pastora does feel drawn out and repetitive toward the end, and cut have been cut shorter without losing anything.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like the main character but I didn't find anything appealing about him. Luckily the heroine was inspiring and helped me like the book overall. I like the spiritual mixed with the physical.

[Gitane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it's romantic and exotic, completely consuming!

[Sandie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

thought it was great

[Jess orellana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ana Castillo is one of my favorite writers.

[Denise Hatcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the prologue, Castillo shares, “Sapogonia (like the Sapogón/a) is not identified by modern boundaries.”The two protagonists, Máximo Madrigal and Pastora Ake, have a complicated relationship that allows their lives to cross from time to time. Sapogonia explores many complex topics that have no easy solutions, and develops the lives of two individuals who may never find the sense of belonging nor the happiness they both seek.