The Rose of Heaven [Hardcover]

Michael Hemmingson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2004

The Rose of Heaven is a tale of the abuse of and desire for power, and the many ways we human beings inflict violence on our fellow creatures. The year is 1910. In a devout Catholic community in California, a young girl, Rosina, exhibits a tendency for miracles--the ability to heal and bring the dead back to life. Some worship and adore her. Others fear and wish to kill her. And others, like a priest sent by the Vatican and a few opportunistic government operatives, harbor dreadful designs on her phenomenal powers. . . The witness to these extraordinary events during the years that follow--the narrator of this story--is Rosina's cousin, Pablo. But when Pablo is separated from Rosina and joins the Canadian Army to fight in World War I, he knows he must stay alive and reunite with his cousin . . .and save her from the men who crave to profit from her gift and covet her Divine Touch.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this literate dark fantasy from Hemmingson (House of Dreams), Rosina, a poor girl living in California in 1910, discovers that she has the power to heal the lame and resurrect the dead. Her cousin Pablo stands by helplessly as things immediately begin to go wrong. Everyone wants a piece of Rosina—the townspeople begging to be cured; the local priest, who forbids her to heal except in his presence; the U.S. government, which attempts to take her away for testing. Then there's Father O'Hannon, the priest sent by the Vatican to evaluate Rosina's talent. A man of uncertain faith, he becomes obsessed with the girl, leaves the church and marries her mother in order to gain control of her. After O'Hannon teams up with a sordid tent-show revivalist to market Rosina's powers and Pablo discovers that the relationship between his barely pubescent cousin and the ex-priest has turned sexual, the boy leaves. The narrative then focuses on Pablo's attempt to find his prostitute mother and, later, his adventures in France during WWI. Eventually, Pablo returns to America to look for his cousin and discover his own magical destiny. This rather grim tale is a tad predictable, but it's beautifully written, nicely understated and shows a fine sense of its time period.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Prime (June 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193099754X
• ISBN-13: 978-1930997547
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,411,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Hemmingson lives in southern California and Baja California. Michael Hemmingson writes and publishes books, stories, essays, and ethnographic research projects. Michael Hemmingson writes and sells screenplays and film treatments. Michael Hemmingson has been pegged as a novelist, playwright, cultural anthropologist, sociologist in the symbolic interactionism school, auto-ethnographer and criminal scalawag. Michael Hemmingson has been associated with the minimalist Gordon Lish School of Writing. Michael Hemmingson has been accused of being a writer of crime noir literature. Michael Hemmingson has been labeled an author of literary erotica. Michael Hemmingson has been cast into the waters of the AvantPop School of Prose Writing. Michael Hemmingson has edited anthologies, zines, and newspapers. Michael Hemmingson has composed literary criticism and collected ethnographic data in the qualitative inquiry school of social science research. Michael Hemmingson has written speculative fiction and weird westerns. Michael Hemmingson sometimes dashes off a poem. Michael Hemmingson is not Michael Hemmingson. Michael Hemmingson is Michael Hawthorne.