Margins: A Novel (Djuna Books) [Paperback]

Terri de la Peña (Author)

Book Description

Series: Djuna Books | Publication Date: July 12, 2000

In Veronica Melendez, the novelist paints a vibrant portrait of a multidimensional young woman fully embracing her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This deftly written first novel describes the loneliness and isolation of a closet lesbian in a tight-knit and often suffocating Chicano family. Veronica Melendez, a 22-year-old graduate student in English at UCLA, survives a car accident in which her longtime friend and lover, Joanna, is killed. While tending to her emotional and physical wounds, she meets Siena Benedetti, a beautiful, fiery-haired Italian neighbor, and Rene Talamantes, a passionate Chicana film student. Roni is deeply attracted to Siena and grateful for the diversion from her loss, which she has been trying to assuage by writing stories. Siena, who is recovering from an abortion and a series of bad relationships, falls equally in lust. But when Roni's teenage nephew catches them in bed together, it sets off a chain of events that sends Siena back to the straight life and leads Roni to confront the repudiation of her parents and the Catholic Church. Finally, it is Rene who helps Roni rediscover her Mexican heritage and infuses her with the courage to tell the truth about her sexuality, leaving her "ready to move beyond societal and cultural boundaries, beyond her stories' well-defined margins."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Recovering from a car crash that left her lover dead and put her in a coma, Veronica Melendez isn't looking for another lover but finds two. Until the accident, life had been simple. She was a dutiful daughter, college graduate student, and secret lover of her childhood friend, Joanna. Beautiful Sienna and wild Rene each help Veronica realize that she wants to "come out" both to her family and in her short story writing. This lusty story of the awakening of a 22-year-old Chicana lesbian uses Spanish dialog intermixed with English to effectively show both Veronica and the reader the value of bilingualism without making it a necessity. The process is all in this story. As the young woman regains her strength and learns new skills, she realizes that with kindness but toughness she can face her family and the rest of the world openly.
-Regan Robinson, "Librarians Collection Letter," Keller, Wash.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press; First Printing edition (July 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580050395
• ISBN-13: 978-1580050395
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to Kirkus., April 5, 1998

By 

Jay Sorensen (Bistrita, Romania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Margins (Paperback)

For some reason, the Kirkus reviewers have a real axe to grind with Terri de la Pena's work: They seem to think that SHE has an axe to grind, and one they don't much care for. If you enjoy original lesbian fiction, and/or if Spanglish is the language your heart speaks, you will love both this book and de la Pena's second, "Latin Satins". It's true that de la Pena is still developing as a writer, but her beginning ventures are much stronger than much of the dreck that passes for contemporary literature. I have to admit that, like the Kirkus reviewer, I didn't much care for Rene Talamantes either... but a one-dimensional character couldn't have pulled such a deep response from me. Veronica's family is very real, and Veronica's struggle to overcome her grief and find new meaning is poignant. I look forward to reading many, many more of de la Pena's novels.