Amor Eterno
Eleven Lessons in Love
Patricia Preciado Martin
110 pp. / 5.5 x 8.5 / 2000
Paper (978-0-8165-1995-8)
Signed by Author

It brings a mother to her knees to plead for her son's safe return from war. It draws a grown woman back to the site of cherished childhood memories. It keeps the passion and romance of youth alive in an older woman's heart. It brings together heiresses and busboys, lawyers and chambermaids. Only love, the magical elixir that transcends boundaries and relieves heartaches, can do these things. Through earthy, charming stories that blend songs, letters, and prayers, Patricia Preciado Martin explores the hidden places of the soul and the human longing for Amor Eterno, eternal love. Forbidden love, enchanted love, and desperate love are just some of the varieties of love that get mixed into this sweet concoction of romance, wit, and instruction. A delicious combination of modern sensibility and folk wisdom--including recipes for fresh breath and special prayers to Saint Valentine--this book tells universal tales of devotion and desire. Seeking love in many forms, Martin's characters relive unforgettable experiences, pursue elusive destinies, give themselves with abandon, and yearn for home. Love is the mysterious and miraculous emotion that leads them to deny or indulge their deepest needs. Amor Eterno is a passionate and humorous collection of stories that will inspire us to treasure and share the loves we have known.

How do I love thee? Let Martin count the ways. Just as she did in El Milagro, oral historian Martin draws on the oral literature of the Mexican American community. . . . These short stories transcend their regional milieu to tell universal amorous truths. Written with finesse and without pretension, they are charming and appealing. —Library Journal

Forbidden, enchanted, desperate—these are some of the varieties of love in this charming concoction of romance, with, and instruction by the Arizona oral historian. —Latina

The technique is unique; the combination of epistolary form, songs, recipes, prayers to Sain Valentire, promises to Mother Mary, and stories told in flashback all reveal the many expressions of love. Highly recommended. —Multicultural Review

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