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Narrated by January LaVoy
Ana Veciana-SuarezUnabridged — 10 hours, 4 minutes
Narrated by January LaVoy
Ana Veciana-SuarezUnabridged — 10 hours, 4 minutes
A feminist¿Shakespeare in Love¿reimagining of Cervantes,¿Dulcinea¿tells the story of Dolça, the fictional muse behind¿Don Quixote-a must-read for fans of¿Year of Wonders¿by Geraldine Brooks and¿The Book of Longings¿by Sue Monk Kidd.¿
The daughter of a wealthy merchant, young Dolça Llull Prat is besotted with the dashing, bootstrapping Miguel Cervantes from their first meeting. Despite Miguel's entreaties, the ever-practical Dolça, with her love of luxury and her devotion to her own art, repeatedly refuses to upend her life for him, although she always welcomes his attentions on her own terms. When Miguel renders her as the lowly Dulcinea in his great Quixote, revealing their association, he commits an unforgivable offense and their decades-long affinity is severed-until he reaches out to her one last time.
The roads of Spain are no place for a noblewoman seeking to reunite with her former lover, but Dolça needs to unburden herself of a secret. Disguised as a peasant and accompanied by her trusted nursemaid, Dolça makes the difficult trek, facing bandits, the menacing reach of the Inquisition, and her own misgivings. Will she arrive in time? And if she does, will she be able to tell Miguel what she has concealed from him for so many years?
Veciana-Suarez's richly imagined heroine leaps from these pages as a woman of flesh and blood, one committed to both duty and desire. Dulcinea explores the choices we make in life, the regrets we harbor, and the courage we find to make amends.
Dulcinea is a marvel—richly imagined, luminously written, and deftly textured. With meticulous attention to detail and a cast of characters flawed, fascinating, and indelible, Ana Veciana-Suarez recreates a lost world and invites us in.”
For fans of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet and Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks, Dulcinea is an immersive and beautiful novel that hooks readers with the question: Will she reach him before it’s too late?”
Love can defy class and rank…affinities can defy law and logic…and a woman can define her own fate. Set in enchanting Barcelona and on the treacherous Spanish roads during the dark days of the Inquisition, Ana Veciana-Suarez’s gripping novel Dulcinea is a journey, a quest, and a bold, passionate love story. Told through the eyes of a woman who might have been Cervantes’s secret lover—a cousin Dulcinea, for whom he names his own hero’s muse—Dulcinea is a bold work of revelatory imagination filled with secrets, trysts, love, loyalty, deceptions, and passion. It is the perfect twenty-first century companion to Don Quixote.”
Ana Veciana-Suarez’s Dulcinea, an impressive historical novel, imaginatively answers the question: Who was Cervantes’ muse? With potently lyrical prose, rich historical detail, and a cast of compelling characters, readers will be utterly transported to a time in Spanish history that is contradictory, complex, and surprisingly similar to the modern world.”
This is a beautiful book about art and love, and the passions that ignite them both.”
Deftly incorporating poetic, detailed descriptions and lyrical dialogue, Veciana-Suarez vividly portrays Spain’s history, land, customs, and people during the dangerous times of the Spanish Inquisition…An entertaining, mesmerizing coming-of-age story.”
Dulcinea is a brilliant approach to Don Quixote from the point of view of ‘the other woman.’ Ana Veciana-Suarez reimagines the world of Cervantes and the streets of old Barcelona through conflicts that are contemporary to us. The pages fly by. The reader is in the hands of a woman in search of her truth. A love story without parallels.”
In Dulcinea, Ana Veciana-Suarez takes the reader on a journey of all the passionate and oftentimes contradictory emotions that comprise a life. Heartfelt and moving, this book pulses with the same lively energy as its memorable heroine.”
January LaVoy has a robust, elegant voice perfect for narrating the story of the determined Dolça Llull Prat…Her pacing and emotional command in the passages involving the feared Holy Inquisition heighten suspense.”
Dulcinea is full of fervor and adventure, and Ana Veciana-Suarez writes with assurance and an eye for detail. The feminist reimagining we’ve always needed!”
An exquisite brocade of history and imagination, Dulcinea tells the story of Cervantes’s fictional muse, Dolca Llull Prat. Set in Spain during the height of the Inquisition, Dulcinea weaves a captivating tale of passion, betrayal, and adventure. Readers will be enthralled by Ana Veciana-Suarez’s fresh feminist perspective on the classic hero’s journey. A must-read.”
A treat for aficionados of Catalonia and Spain, Dulcinea transports the reader with lush language and exquisite historical detail in a spirited tale of love, betrayal, and remorse. Readers will delight in seeing Dulcinea liberated from her previous minor role in one of literature’s most influential novels, allowed to lead her own rollicking adventure and tell her own passionate story.”
January LaVoy has a robust, elegant voice perfect for narrating the story of the determined Dolça Llull Prat, the fictional muse of author Miguel Cervantes, author of DON QUIXOTE. The story alternates between Dolça's youth and her travels from Barcelona to Madrid to visit the dying Miguel. Dolça's wealthy parents would not allow their union because Miguel lacked a fortune. But Dolça and Miguel defy everyone and have a lifelong intermittent affair. LaVoy does an adequate job with words and names in Spanish and Catalan. She shines when she voices Cervantes; she adds deep emotion as she recounts his frustration with his lack of fortune and fame. Her pacing and emotional command in the passages involving the feared Holy Inquisition heighten suspense. A.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2023-02-25
A feminist reclamation of Don Quixote’s Dulcinea that explores what happens when the woman who inspired the character is able to confront the writer.
Dolça Llull Prat is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She’s confident, enjoys reading and painting, and, as her father says, “her curiosity is matched only by her impetuosity, and both are as long as a sennight of ceaseless rain.” She is multidimensional, unlike Don Quixote’s Dulcinea. The book opens with the arrival of distant relative Miguel de Cerbantes de Cortinas at Dolça’s family home in Barcelona. Upon meeting, Dolça and Miguel are immediately attracted to one another, and they begin a secret romance. Dolça prefers to read and speak in Catalan, so she calls him Miquel, because, she says, “that’s what it is in my tongue.” The plot and setting are firmly anchored with excellent historical details, and author Veciana-Suarez takes particular care to ensure the prominent languages in Spain at the time are well represented. Miquel the “poet-soldier” is not a man of Dolça’s status, so her parents disapprove of him—but this doesn’t dissuade Dolça. Miquel visits and writes often, until he abruptly stops. In his absence, Dolça’s parents arrange a marriage to Françesc d’Oms Calders, who they feel can provide the life to which she’s accustomed. Before the wedding takes place, however, Dolça receives news that Miquel was taken hostage, which explains his disappearance. She feels conflicted but goes ahead with the marriage anyway. When Miquel is released, they continue their affair despite the fact that she’s married. Years later, Miquel, who writes under the name Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, publishes El Quixote, which includes a character named Dulcinea. The character’s description is unflattering, and the closeness to her name causes rumors about his and Dolça’s relationship to flourish. Dolça feels betrayed. Dulcinea, “the hidalgo’s muse,” inspires everything the title character does, which Miquel feels is a compliment. Chapters alternate between Dolça's page-turning memories in the late 1500s, following her romance with Miquel and their falling-out, with more slowly moving chapters set in the early 1600s as she travels to see him one last time.
A well-researched and compelling homage to Cervantes’ Dulcinea.
| BN ID: | 2940175855112 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 05/02/2023 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
