Treasures in Heaven

By Kathleen Alcalá

Book Overview

To escape a scandal that sent her husband into exile, Estela abandons the safety of her hometown and travels with her infant son to the roaring nineteenth-century metropolis of Mexico City. Hoping to begin her life anew, Estela declares herself a widow and goes in search of her former lover - and only true love. Estela's romantic ideals are quickly destroyed; her lover is married, and Estela realizes that to be a woman in Mexico "without family was to be derided, degraded, and disgraced. Born into misery, a woman brought her children into it, ate it with her tortillas, and was buried in it."

When Estela is introduced to an elegantly independent creature named La Se orita, her combination of naivete and intelligence, individual will and compliance is enough to intrigue La Se orita. Born into wealth, and refusing to relinquish control of her considerable funds, La Se orita is a protofeminist whose cause is to fight for "the plight of women in Mexico." Together, the two start an increasingly dangerous movement for social change that foreshadows the Mexican Revolution. It is Estela's ability to take satisfaction from "the repair of the world" that teaches her that the promise of treasures in heaven should never outweigh the gift of a life that is really lived.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810120364
• ISBN13: 9780810120365
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

This novel will transport you to another time and place.

Ms. Alcala has created a compelling and informative novel. I was sucked in from page one. It will transport you straight into the tumultuous political climate of late 19th century Mexico under the oppressive rule of Dictator Porfirio Diaz. I think you will appreciate this book for its harsh beauty, its rich characters and its multi -layered story of loss and survival. A book that is this entertaining and at the same time educational is a rare find. I only hope that Ms. Alcala will write another book so that I can learn more about Beto and Estela and all of her other memorable characters. I recommend this book without reservation.

Fascinating Insight Into an Explosive Time in Mexico

You can't get any better than this: a great story about a woman asserting her independence during the early 1900s in Mexico City--a time of social and political revolutions. To those of you who have read Alcala's earlier works, this is truly a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. To those who have not read the earlier works, you will only have your interest piqued. Alcala writes with authority about pre-revolutionary Mexico and the tales she spins are unforgettable accounts of strong women who persevere against personal and social challenges. This author's best achievement is the way she dispels the myth of the passive Mexican woman repeatedly in her compelling body of work.