Customer Reviews

Diana: The Goddess Who Hunts Alone

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In "Diana, the Goddess Who Hunts Alone," the reader will discover a compelling tale by one of the masters of contemporary fiction. This novel by Carlos Fuentes has been translated into English by Alfred Mac Adam. Taking place primarily in 1970, the book tells the story of a tempestuous love affair between the narrator, who is a Mexican novelist, and American actress Diana Soren.

The novel captures the turbulence of the era being portrayed. Such phenomena as the Black Power movement and FBI surveillance of suspected "radicals" are woven into the narrative. Particularly interesting is the way that real people appear as characters in the book; the other characters have encounters, and sometimes conversations, with such figures as William Styron, James Baldwin, and Tina Turner. The novel is superbly written, and deals with such fascinating topics as national identity, racial identity, obsession, paranoia, creativity, political radicalism, fidelity, and Hollywood mythmaking.

One interesting note: The character of Diana Soren appears to be based on a real-life person, actress Jean Seberg. I recommend that those who are fascinated by Fuentes' novel do a little research on Seberg's life. Finally, I give "Diana" high praise as an outstanding example of the art of the novel.

Diana by Carlos Fuentes is an exceptional book! Fuentes uses vivid descriptions like in his other books, but this one is much easier to follow. He has the ability to captivate the reader and make the reader part of his story.

Carlos Fuentes, Diana, The Goddess Who Hunts Alone is a great book about lust. Lust of a man for a woman. A man who generally gets everything he wants, marriage and a multitude of affairs without consequence. This book details a passionate affair between two excentric people with the female in total control. I didn't put it down until it was read

Carlos Fuentes had a brief but tempestuous affair with actress Jean Seberg over thirty years ago. The encounter seems to have marked him, for this book is a barely disguised roman a clef (where Diana Soren = Jean Seberg) about his relationship. It is like one of those European stories where the man gives up everything to follow some vixen, including his money, family, and peace of mind. Luis Bunuel (who actually appears in this novel as a character) created the ultimate masterpiece of the genre with his film THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE.

Jean Seberg has come down to us today as a tortured sado-masochistic saint who still has the power to beguile men. Film posters and stills featuring her and her movies command a premium in today's cinememorabilia market; and I know several collectors who seek out anything they can find depicting her. Perhaps, what Marilyn Monroe was for the 1950s, Jean Seberg was for the 1960s.

Why Fuentes wrote this novel in the way he did puzzles me. If I were as obsessed as he was, I would still feel queasy about exposing the dirty bedsheets and underwear to the gaze of the public. To me, love -- however brief or unhappy -- is a gift of the gods; and by spiting it, one shows oneself to be somehow unworthy. Fuentes has flouted a gift whose memory I would have locked away in the deepest recesses of my being and thrown away the key.

If, however, Fuentes feels himself to have been traduced by his relationship, like Charles Swann at the end of Proust's SWANN'S WAY after his recognition of Odette's unfaithfulness, I could understand his need to exorcise this "expense of spirit in a waste of shame."

Instead, I see both the anger and the gratefulness simultaneously. As a result, DIANA THE GODDESS WHO HUNTS ALONE leaves me with a feeling of unease, as if the author did not know his own mind and went off in several emotional directions at once.

The result is a very well written book that in the end does not quite jell. One can't worship at the shrine and spit at it at the same time.

I simply was not convinced by this book! very disappointing, especially since i love jean seberg. but her character is ravaged and the prententious prose gets in the way too! a glorious opportunity wasted.