The Garden of Secrets [Hardcover]

Juan Goytisolo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000

Book Jacket

Twenty-eight storytellers - one for each letter in the Arabic alphabet - meet in a garden to tell the story of a poet, Eusebio, arrested in the early days of the Spanish Civil War. Eusebio, a friend of Garcia Lorca and his Circle, had escaped assassination and fled to North Africa." "Some tales embroider his shadowly life with stories that feature the pasha's cook, the slave-market, Aysha and the stork... Others want to know if Eusebio betrayed his fascist friends by confessing in a show-trial or played the shadowy role of double-agent. Is he Eugenio the World War Two black marketeer from Tangiers or Alphonse van Worden, supposed descendent of Count Potocki, doyen of Marrakesh queens with his Rolls, Philippines' chauffeur and home showings of Mary Pickford movies?" "With answers that are violent, parodic and erotic, Goytisolo's storytellers question the nature of memory, history and myth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The life of Eusebio, a homosexual dissident poet who was a contemporary of Lorca, is the subject of this collection of interrelated short narratives, a tour-de-force in its range of styles and perspectives. When members of a reading group decide to compose a collaborative work on the events leading up to and following the poet's internment in a nightmarish state psychiatric hospital during the 1930s, their collage of stories results in an image of the writer as an eccentric, somewhat haunted and brilliant individual. Some of the stories attempt to reimagine Eusebio's life with journalistic accuracy. One describes his tiny hospital room, from which, until he escapes, he is able to catch only a small glimpse of the outside world; another chronicles his slippery responses to courtroom questioning, making his prevarications into acts of rebellion. The book is more entertaining when it goes farther afield than this, making suppositions about the poet's life that could not possibly be true but are fascinating possibilities. One simply stated tale concerns a man who transforms himself into a stork to spy on his adulterous wife; later, it is revealed that Eusebio transcribed the story from one told by a neighbor in the town where he spent his last days. Another storyteller fashions Eusebio into an impostor who names himself after a character in the cult novel The Saragossa Manuscript; this Eusebio dresses in drag, watches movies at all hours and rides in a chauffeured limousine. One only wishes that Goytisolo, author of numerous novels that blend a strong imagination with a stronger social conscience, had pursued some of his more whimsical impulses further. Still, the resulting work is a monument to ideological and intellectual integrity. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'This work deserves the highest recognition...no-one can deny Juan Goytisolo is the main Spanish novelist on active service’ Carlos Fuentes -- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852426594
• ISBN-13: 978-1852426590
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,291,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Garden of Earthly Delights, May 25, 2001

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Garden of Secrets (Hardcover)

Borrowing the title from Hieronymous Bosch's painting as a way to present this book is cogent. Juan Goytisolo is considered Spain's foremost writer and if this small book, THE GARDEN OF SECRETS, is any indication, his standing is well supported.

To postulate the fate of a well know poet - Eusebio - who was close to Lorca and other writers during the Franco period of Spain, a poet who "disappeared" about the same time as Lorca, the author has gathered 28 literary people in a garden in Marrakesh to discuss the life and possible fates of the honored poet. We have, then, 28 versions of what happened to Eusebio, and the stories range from campy, to wild, to tragic, to nationalistic. Goytisolo is a linguist who mixes French, Arabic, Spanish - all the voices in the intrigue laden Marrakech, Morocco - and translates in footnotes and interactive conversations so that we never lose track of the story lines. This little book is somewhat like the story of the three blind men describing an elephant, or even the old Steve Allen show which featured characters from many periods sharing reponses to questions colored by their own histories. A delightful little diversion, this, and yet it is more. It is poetry, Spanish history, an exploration of the gay writers so prominent in Spanish history, and a beautiful introduction to the wonders of Marrakech. Credit must also be given to the translator - very sensitive work. If you are as unfamiliar with Goyistolo as I, thne I highly recommend this little book as a rapt starting point in your discovery of ANOTHER great writer of our times.