Synopses & Reviews
Deep Purple is a provocative, mischievously humorous new novel from Cuban writer Mayra Montero, author of the highly acclaimed
The Red of His Shadow, among other novels, all translated by Edith Grossman.
Distinguished music critic Agustín Cabán has written for a San Juan newspaper all his life. Forced to retire, he continues to haunt its offices, encouraged by his former editor. Agustín is writing his memoirs, and his editor can't wait to read each passionate and titillating installment.
For Agustín, music is indispensable to sexual emotion. In the course of a long career, he seduced the women and men who were among the most brilliant classical musicians in the world. These erotic encounters were shaped by the musical instrument as well as by the performer who had mastered it. The Australian pianist Clint Verret, with whom Agustín spent three days in the Brown Palace in Denver, offered a passionate and tender interlude. Clarissa Berdsley, the French horn player, was submissive and playful. The flamboyant violinist Manuela Suggia turned out to be a vengeful and demonic lover.
Through the adventures of her unusual protagonist, Mayra Montero explores the relationship between exual desire and music. Agustín Cabán ultimately finds in that deep and mysterious place that is the core of human sexuality nothing less than the meaning of life.
Review
"[A] short, succulent erotic novel....The combination of arch, literate writing...and Caban's daring sexual escapades make this book a delectable treat from start to finish, especially for classical music mavens." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[A]ggressively sexy....[V]ery entertaining vignettes [that] cohere into a subtle, striking character study of a music lover....The best yet from Montero." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] smart, tart novel....Although quite short, the novel shape-shifts through many mood changes as Cabán makes his case for the sinuous connection between music and sexuality." Lisa Zeidner, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"The overlay of burlesque dissipates that metaphor somewhat, and the strong erotic flavor overshadows the aesthetic....[E]ntertaining but not great literature. Reluctantly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"[Montero's] prose is blunt and direct....It's easy to see why the novel won Spain's prestigious literary prize for erotica, the Sonrisa Vertical in 2000." Adriana Lopez, The Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
Agustin Caban, a distinguished music critic, has written for a San Juan newspaper all his life. Forced to retire but unwilling to stop working, Agustin begins writing about his seductions of the most brilliant classical musicians in the world. In his memoirs he reveals that the Australian pianist Glint Verret offered a passionate and tender interlude; that Clarissa Berdsley, the French horn player, was submissive and playful; and that the flamboyant violinist Manuela Suggia turned out to be a vengeful and demonic lover.
As Sebastian, his former editor, devours each passionate and titillating installment, he begins to regard Agustin's sexual forays in a new light. Deep Purple explores the relationship between sexual desire and music, and finds in that deep and mysterious place the meaning of life.
Synopsis
Agustin Caban, a distinguished music critic, is forced to retire but unwilling to stop working, so he begins writing about his seductions of the most brilliant classical musicians in the world. Deep Purple explores the relationship between sexual desire and music, and finds in that deep and mysterious place the meaning of life.
About the Author
Mayra Montero was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1952, but has lived in Puerto Rico since the mid 1960s. She studied journalism in Mexico and Puerto Rico and worked for many years as a correspondent in Central America and the Caribbean. She is presently a highly acclaimed journalist in Puerto Rico and writes a weekly column in El Nuevo Dia newspaper. Montero's first book was a collection of short stories, Twenty-Three and a Turtle. Her second book, a novel titled The Braid of the Beautiful Moon, was a finalist for the Herralde awards, one of Europe's most prestigious literary awards. Each of her subsequent books -- The Last Night I Spent With You, The Red of His Shadow, In the Palm of Darkness, and The Messenger -- has been published in the United States in translations by Edith Grossman, as well as in several European countries. Her other nonfiction work appears frequently in scholarly and literary publications throughout the world.