A Santo in the Image of Cristobal Garcia Hardcover - 2002

by Collignon, Rick

In 1996, on the publication of The Journal of Antonio Montoya, Tony Hillerman called Rick Collignon a "talented new writer with original ideas." Rudolfo Anaya praised his "haunting storytelling" and his "gifted style." And The New York Times Book Review described his second book, Perdido (1997), as "a novel that captivates and surprises all the way to its chilling end."

Now, translated into ten languages, these "Guadalupe novels" continue to be read around the world.

With A Santo in the Image of Cristóbal García, the eagerly awaited final installment in his trilogy, Collignon brings us the entire saga of the magical village of Guadalupe, New Mexico-from the long-ago winter when it was established by a solitary madman making tiny houses in the snow, to the moment when it is inexplicably set afire.

Flavio Montoya returns as the aged scion of his family, still tending his dead sister's fields and wondering how all of his family could have died before him. When the villagers accuse him of starting the fire, it becomes one more mystery that the simple Flavio must fold into his life, though he cannot quite understand it.

A Santo in the Image of Cristóbal García is a beautiful, funny, and even epic story of how all history is finally personal.

PRAISE FOR RICK COLLIGNON:

JOURNAL OF ANTONIO MONTOYA

"This is a distinctive and appealing first novel." (Atlantic Monthly)

"Collignon delivers his own engaging brand of magical realism with a spare style, deadpan humor and bracingly fresh descriptions." (Publishers Weekly)

"Strongly reminiscent of the magic realism of Garcia Marquez, this is an enchanting work by a new writer." (Library Journal)

Small Press Magazine "This is a wonderful, fictional narrative of family and community told in an oral history tradition. . . . With Ramona's eyes and ears, you merge into aintergenerational family of new ghosts, old ghosts and the living. Retreat into the past of the village and plunge forward into the present and future in a humorous mix of time and interaction. The pages of the old journal help tie everything together in a beautiful, touching, caring package." (Small Press Magazine)

Midwest Book Review"The mark of gifted writing is how well the reader loses all sense of time and place as they enter the world created by the author and identifies with the characters and is immersed in the storyline. By those criteria, The Journal of Antonio Montoya is a literary masterpiece." (Midwest Book Review)

PERDIDO:

"Driven by Collignon's decisive prose, his strong characters and his deep knowledge of New Mexico folklore, Perdido is a one-sitting read, a novel that captivates and surprises all the way to its chilling end." (The New York Times Book Review)

Atlantic Monthly, August 1997 "Mr. Collignon has created a distinct and meaningful world." (Atlantic Monthly, August 1997)

"Collignon writes with a plain yet evocative (and often moving) style that's sure to appeal to fans of Tony Hillerman and Sherman Alexie." (Publishers Weekly), June 16, 1997)

"Mr. Collignon has taken readers back to the village he wrote of in his first novel, The Journal of Antonio Montoya. It is a happy return." (The Dallas Morning News)

"Intriguing. . .Compelling. . .The novel succeeds admirably with its deception of a peaceful way of life abruptly hurled into dangerous havoc by unwanted curiosity. . .Collignon's male characters are masterfully drawn, as is his rendering of the stark New Mexico landscape, with its harsh unforgiving climate." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)