Synopses & Reviews
The Widow (La Viuda) is ninety-two years old. She lives in a house filled with photos and coins, jewels and a sable coat. Aware that her memory is failing but burning with desire to record the story of her life on paper, she hires Gabriela, a nineteen-year-old Mixteca from Mexico. Gabriela is one of the few survivors of a massacre and treacherous journey to El Norte. Gabriela and the Widow is a story of chaos, revenge, and change: death and love, love and sex, and sex and death. Gabriela seeks revenge for the destruction of her village. The Widow craves balance for the betrayals in her life. In the end, the Widow gives Gabriela the secret of immortality.
Review
"The plot is complex and filled with revenge, sometimes sadness, and a level of mystery and intrigue that only a well versed and experienced author could accomplish .... A master tale by a master talent." --Terri Forehand, Writing and Others Ways into the Heart
"I found the book to be a gripping read. Gabriela is an amazingly resilient and resourceful character.... You get so drawn to Gabriela with her freshness and uncomplicated approach to things. Jack Remick has a gift with character creation. He portrays everyone sharply, even minor characters that we only meet in passing. We know exactly what makes them tick and whether we like them or not within a sentence or two. There is plenty of action, an intriguing plot and a lot of enjoyment to be drawn from this novel." --Stephanie, BooksAreCool.com
Review
A book that is deep and more than just a story is a book that will stay in head for many years. I think I found such a book in Gabriela and the Widow.
Gabriela finds herself struggling to survive in her native land as war ends just as bloody as it started. She runs from one evil to find herself in the hands of another. Eventually, she makes her way to the states where she becomes the nurse/assistant of a dying widow whose life is many stories that would take years to tell.
It is through the widow's telling of her life that Gabriela matures and discovers other worlds that expand the meaning of her own life.
The characters are very intriguing. They are not perfect. They are not all bad. I do think that the character, the widow, was the one that was the most well-developed. She shifted between her various mental states in a way that had the reader experiencing the same confusion, frustration, and admiration that Gabriela felt. I think every character in the book was interesting with hints of their own stories that could have been told in depth outside of this book. Each one showed they were more than a character helping the two main ones on their literary journey. They all had life.
The story is extremely captivating. You want to keep reading to find out what is next is store for the young girl and what new things she will discover with from the widow. Many times, the reader is taken into a dream world that connects the two characters and reveals much about their past and their future.
Overall, the pace is very slow. This is not an action story or a mystery. It is a drama that is emotional as well as verbal. You will find that you can easily set the book down at the end of each chapter and resume it quickly the next time you dive in. At the same time, you want to keep reading to see what will happen next.
Mr. Remick's style is extremely interesting and had me scratching my head one minute and smiling the next. He mixes history in with psychological explorations of the characters. This is more than a simple story. This is a detailed examination of life.
There are some intense scenes that are not described in ways that are vulgar, but they do come close. Most words and used in a cryptic manner, but the reader would easily be able to understand them though Gabriela might not. There is a lot of Spanish in it, but translations occur throughout the story as Gabriela learns English.
If you like a deep book that will take you more than a day or two to read, I strongly suggest you check this book out. Mr. Remick is a master at writing.
--Rebecca, A Book Lover's Library
Review
BLOOD: "For an author to choose as his explicit models Camus's L'Etranger, Genet's Notre Dame des Fleurs, and Sade's Les 120 Journées de Sodom (all of which he has obviously read in French) and to earn the right to be mentioned in their company is quite a goal to strive for: one that only time will verify but that perhaps Jack Remick has indeed achieved." --Wayne Gunn, LambdaLiterary.org
Review
"Remick laces Spanish and English dialogue, crusted agéd skin and voluptuous beauty, bloody violence and exquisite tenderness. As he blurs boundaries we are sucked into this story, chapter by chapter, until we too transform, we too feel we have glimpsed the answer to immortality's riddles. Gabriela and The Widow is sure to hook readers who enjoy a well told and fascinating story where all the gem-like details fall together to form a rich and satisfying puzzle."
--Paula Lowe, Publisher, Big Yes Press, former editor Solo Novo Magazine.