{"product_id":"the-promise-9780872867710","title":"The Promise","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews calls The Promise one of the Best Books of Fiction, and of Literature in Translation, of the year \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e* Voted one of the Big Fall Books from Indies by \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u0026amp; LitHub's \u003c\/em\u003eMost Anticipated Books of 2019\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"The world is ready for her blend of insane Angela Carter with the originality of Clarice Lispector.\"--Mariana Enriquez, LitHub\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Both her debut story collection, \u003cem\u003eForgotten Journey, \u003c\/em\u003e and her only novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Promise\u003c\/em\u003e, are strikingly 20th-century texts, written in a high-modernist mode rarely found in contemporary fiction.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Lily Meyer, NPR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Silvina Ocampo is the next writer you should be reading.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Michael Silverblatt\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA dying woman's attempt to recount the story of her life reveals the fragility of memory and the illusion of identity.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Of all the words that could define her, the most accurate is, I think, ingenious.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eJorge Luis Borges\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I don't know of another writer who better captures the magic inside everyday rituals, the forbidden or hidden face that our mirrors don't show us.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eItalo Calvino\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Few writers have an eye for the small horrors of everyday life; fewer still see the everyday marvelous. Other than Silvina Ocampo, I cannot think of a single writer who, at any time in any language, has chronicled both with such wise and elegant humor.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eAlberto Manguel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Art is the cure for death. A seminal work by an underread master. Required for all students of the human condition.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eStarred Review, Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This haunting and vital final work from Ocampo, her only novel, is about a woman's life flashing before her eyes when she's stranded in the ocean. . . . the book's true power is its depiction of the strength of the mind and the necessity of storytelling, which for the narrator is literally staving off death. Ocampo's portrait of one woman's interior life is forceful and full of hope.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eGabe Habash, Starred Review, \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Ocampo is beyond great--she is necessary.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eHernan Diaz, author of \u003cem\u003eIn the Distance \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I don't know of another writer who better captures the magic inside everyday rituals, the forbidden or hidden face that our mirrors don't show us.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eItalo Calvino\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"These two newly translated books could make her a rediscovery on par with Clarice Lispector. . . . there has never been another voice like hers.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--John Freeman, Executive Editor, LitHub\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Like William Blake, Ocampo's first voice was that of a visual artist; in her writing she retains the will to unveil immaterial so that we might at least look at it if not touch it.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eHelen Oyeyemi, author of \u003cem\u003eGingerbread\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA woman traveling on a transatlantic ship has fallen overboard. Adrift at sea, she makes a promise to Saint Rita, \"arbiter of the impossible,\" that if she survives, she will write her life story. As she drifts, she wonders what she might include in the story of her life--a repertoire of miracles, threats, and people parade tumultuously through her mind. Little by little, her imagination begins to commandeer her memories, escaping the strictures of realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTranslated into English for the very first time, \u003cem\u003eThe Promise\u003c\/em\u003e showcases Silvina Ocampo at her most feminist, idiosyncratic and subversive. Ocampo worked quietly to perfect this novella over the course of twenty-five years, nearly up until the time of her death in 1993.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e City Lights Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/05\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780872867710\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 120\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 6.90h x 4.90w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/08\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2019 pg. 34\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Silvina Ocampo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36645487214748,"sku":"9780872867710","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_08b257b9-6411-46d9-9c2d-df93c6df74d3.jpg?v=1603861232","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-promise-9780872867710","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}