Author: F. G. Haghenbeck
- Fiction
- Atria Books
- ISBN: 9781451641417
- Release Date: 09-25-2012
Synopsis
Entre los objetos personales de Frida Kahlo había una pequeña libreta negra a la que llamaba “El Libro de Hierba Santa” con su colección de recetas de cocina dedicadas a la Santa Muerte. Esta se exhibiría por primera vez en el Palacio de Bellas Artes con motivo de la fecha de su natalicio. El día que se abrió la exhibición al público la libreta desapareció.
F. G. Haghenbeck, uno de los escritores más aclamados en México, se inspiró en este hecho y escribió esta maravillosa novela, la cual trae una vez más a la vida a la famosa artista Frida Kahlo.
Haghenbeck imagina que esta libreta fue un regalo de su amante Tina Modotti, después de que Frida sobrevivió al terrible accidente de tráfico que marcó su vida. Desde este punto, Haghenbeck intercala recetas con pasajes vividos por la artista y reconstruye de una forma magistral la tumultuosa pero fascinante vida de Frida Kahlo, desde su romance con el amor de su vida y afamado pintor Diego Rivera, hasta sus relaciones con personajes famosos como Georgia O’Keeffe, Ernest Hemingway y Salvador Dalí, entre otros.
More than half a century after her death, Frida Kahlo continues to inspire a devoted following. Her paintings command more money than any other female artist, and her work was the first by a Mexican artist to be purchased by the Louvre. Now her fascinating life is the basis for a brilliant novel in Frida Kahlo’s Secret Book.
Acclaimed Mexican novelist F. G. Haghenbeck was inspired to write this book after a series of notebooks and sketchbooks were recently discovered among Frida’s belongings in Casa Azul, her home in CoyoacÁn, MÉxico City. Although her family never confirmed their authenticity, Haghenbeck imagines that one of the notebooks was a gift from her lover Tina Modotti after Frida nearly died. Frida called the notebook “El Libro de Hierba Santa” (“The Sacred Herbs Book”) and filled it with memories, ideas, and recipes for The Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday that commemorates deceased friends and family through the cooking of a delicious feast of exotic dishes.
In a rich, luscious style bordering on magical realism, Haghenbeck takes readers on an intriguing ride through Frida’s life, including her long and tumultuous relationship with her lover Diego Rivera, the development of her artistic vision, her complex personality, her lust for life, and her existential feminism. The book also includes stories about the remarkable people who were a part of her life, including Georgia O'Keeffe (with whom she had an affair), Trotsky, Nelson Rockefeller, Hemingway, Dos Passos, Henry Miller, and DalÍ.
