The Living Infinite
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
A nineteenth century Spanish princess is determined to publish her tell-all memoir in this “fresh, fast-moving historical fiction from a master storyteller” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
After her cloistered childhood at the Spanish court, her youth spent in exile, and a loveless marriage, the Bourbon infanta Eulalia gladly departs Europe for the New World. In the company of Thomas Aragon, a small-town bookseller and the son of her childhood wet nurse, she travels first to a Cuba bubbling with revolutionary fervor, and then to the 1893 Chicago World Fair. As far as the public is concerned, she is there as an emissary of the Bourbon dynasty. But secretly, she is in America to find a publisher for her scandalous autobiography, a book that might well turn the old world order on its head.
Latino International Book Award winner Chantel Acevedo brings Bourbon Spain, Revolutionary Cuba, and fin de siècle America vividly to life in her new novel based on a true story. The Living Infinite is a timeless tale of love, adventure, power and the quest to take control of one’s destiny.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Acevedo's wide-ranging historical novel revolves around Eulalia of Spain, a real-life Bourbon princess at the close of the 19th century. With the secret intention of selling her tell-all memoir, Eulalia embarks as an emissary across the Atlantic during a time when her royal family's power and the country's colonial clout are on the wane. Eulalia's life and travels are delivered mostly through the perspective of two Spanish commoners: Amalia, Eulalia's nurse as a child, and later Amalia's son, Tomas, who grows up alongside Eulalia and travels to the New World with her. Self-discovery and a muted romance ensue. Acevedo (Love and Ghost Letters) has found a turbulent historical moment, and the period comes vividly to life when the characters visit Cuba and then Chicago for the World's Fair, though the portions set in Spain are less vibrant. The outspoken Bourbon princess shackled by her gender and position is a worthy protagonist with plenty of complexities to mine, but the novel takes time to find its footing, and Eulalia often disappears behind the many historical details and descriptions of customs.)
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