"Poetic and magical ... Astur's language is meticulous and
vivid."--Asymptote
A breathtaking literary crime novel about family conflict in the Spanish
countryside. Marcelino lives alone on his parents' farm, set deep in the
beautiful but impoverished reaches of northern Spain. It's the place
where he grew up, the place where he doted on his baby brother, the
place where he protected his mother from their father's drunken rages.
But when Marcelino's brother tricks him out of his house and land, a
moment of anger sparks a chain of events that can't be reversed.
Marcelino flees to the wild peaks of rural Asturias, becoming a cult
hero as he evades the authorities. Into this, author Manuel Astur
interweaves family tales and fables about the sun and the moon, about
death and love, and offers glimpses into the lives of other villagers
and the history of their community. Astur's poetic language and seamless
blend of lyricism with the grotesque renders this book a treasure for
the reader. Of Saints and Miracles is a sensuous portrayal of an
outcast's struggle to survive in a chaotic world of both tragedy and
magical splendor.