The Living Infinite

by Chantel Acevedo

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538478561
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	10/17/2017
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Chantel Acevedo was born in Miami to Cuban parents. She is the author of A Falling Star (Carolina Wren Press, 2014), Love and Ghost Letters (St. Martins, 2006), winner of the Latino International Book Award, and The Distant Marvels (Europa, 2015). Acevedo is an Associate Professor of English in the MFA Program of the University of Miami.

Editorial Reviews

The personal struggles of Princess Eulalia are set against the historical backdrop of the late nineteenth century, the final years of her family's rule as Spanish monarchs. This is a rewarding listening experience for fans of historical fiction because there are three narrators working together to make sense of a large cast. Moving from Spain to Cuba and, eventually, to the United States, their capable narration carries us over the years and obstacles that hinder Eulalia's quest for love. As the voices of Roxanne Hernandez and Kyla Garcia mingle, almost indistinguishable from each other, Eddie Lopez is a welcome addition to the chapters focused on Tomas Aargon. His lively pace matches the robust man who captures the princess's heart. Listeners will appreciate this well-told story. M.R. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2017 - AudioFile

10/09/2017
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. Agent: Stephanie Abou, Massie & McQuilkin Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Living Infinite

“A wonderfully compact saga . . . Fresh, fast-moving historical fiction from a master storyteller.”
— Kirkus (starred review)

"A vivid and enthralling tale of love and redemption.”
— Booklist

"...this little-known but fascinating piece of history should appeal widely.”
— Library Journal

"The defiant, adventurous spirit of Eulalia gleams throughout this historical novel."
— Elle Magazine

"[An] enchantingly scented breeze of a novel [that] held me rapt from its opening page."
—Seattle Times

“A gripping fictional tale of one woman’s quest to break from the rigors of palace life and pursue an independent autonomous course. [...] An engaging read sure to inspire armchair historians and those, like Eulalia, tired of having their voices ignored.”
— The Gazette

"Spellbinding, [...] expressive and rich [...] What is so compelling about Acevedo’s fictional and historical tale is the deft and illuminating ways she paints the many lives of women who lived in a century that favored men and their escapades."
— The Miami Rail

“Through gem-like clarity and sparkle, Acevedo gives readers a glimpse into the past...entertaining and insightful.”
— Midwest Book Review

“Acevedo mixes historical facts with her own inventions in such a masterful way that it is impossible to distinguish where history stops and Acevedo’s imagination begins. That, and her keen and sparing use of vivid details [...], marks The Living Infinite as a masterwork of historical fiction.”
— Ploughshares

Praise for Chantel Acevedo's The Distant Marvels

"Acevedo here makes a significant contribution to contemporary literature...This is a major, uniquely powerful, and startlingly beautiful novel that should bring Acevedo's name to the top echelon of this generation's writers."
— Booklist (Starred Review)

"Rich and engrossing...quite aside from the human perceptivity and warmth that distinguish The Distant Marvels , is a writing style of an elegance rarely encountered in contemporary fiction."
—Philadelphia Inquirer

" The Distant Marvels is a wonderful story about the stories we tell each other and what they reveal about ourselves."
—The San Francisco Chronicle

"Acevedo takes a great story to another level with her remarkable storytelling."
—Cedar Rapids Gazette

"Irresistible moments of rebellion and bravery define this tale."
—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"As Hurricane Flora blows past Fidel Castro's new Cuba, Acevedo's heartbreaking and humane novel comes to a memorable conclusion."
—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2017-07-04
A real 19th-century Bourbon infanta is the inspiration for this novel about a princess who writes a rebellious feminist memoir.It begins with a rejection letter informing HRH Eulalia of Spain that though there may be "a great deal of truth in what [she says]," Ediciones Medina "will not, today nor ever, publish this book." From there, Acevedo (The Distant Marvels, 2015, etc.) launches a wonderfully compact saga that weaves together real and invented characters and events. Around the same time infanta Eulalia was born, at least in Acevedo's version, so was a boy named Tomás in the village of Burgos—and when his mother, Amalia, was chosen as the infanta's wet nurse, he became Eulalia's "milk brother." Mother and son traveled to the Palacio Real, where for nearly two years they lived among the intrigues, infidelities, and indoor peacocks of the Spanish court. As much as Amalia misses her husband, the person she really pines for is her best friend, the midwife Gisela, but troubles similar to those that plague the palace are afoot at home, forever changing the relationships of all the key characters. In the next section of the book, we hear from Eulalia and Tomás, each telling one part of the story that brought them together again—she as the author of a scathing memoir, still trapped in her royal role; he as an unsuccessful bookseller asked by Su Alteza (her highness) to find her a publisher. From there the story finds its way to revolutionary Cuba and on to the Chicago Exposition of 1893, with a coda set in 1915. The dramatic changes of the period spanned by the book, which begins in a world which seems not far from medieval and ends among light bulbs, hotel rooms, and train stations, are subtly evoked, and its feminist themes are fitted elegantly into that frame. Fresh, fast-moving historical fiction from a master storyteller.

Kirkus Reviews