Kissing the Virgin's Mouth

by Donna M. Gershten

Book Overview

Selected as the first winner of Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize, Kissing the Virgin's Mouth is a beautifully written, lyrical first novel that offers a rare window into another culture. Its irresistible heroine takes the reader into her Mexican world and the experience is unforgettable.

Barbara Kingsolver founded the Bellwether Prize in support of a literature of social change. In her words, Donna Gershten's novel has "the kind of political...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060185678
• ISBN13: 9780060185671
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Debut novel of growing up poor in Mexico - and moving on

The title of this review makes it sound like another ho-hum feminist story about a deprived or abused woman moving upward into another culture. Yes, there's some of that, but there's so much more to this quite extraordinary fiction debut by Donna Gershten, who won Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for her effort. Guadalupe grew up as a victim of a strong patriarchial culture and learned how to work within that system. Then she manages to use her intelligence and beauty to rise above her origins, she find herself married and moved to the States. There, she's at a loss as to how to fit into her new world. All the old rules no longer seem to apply. This is a cross-cultural tale that deals with the inequities inherent between men and women, between those `with' and those `without' within both societies.

Wonderful!

I was required to read this book for my Literature class. The first couple of pages were the hardest to get through,(because of the transition from Spanish to English) after that, I couldn't put it down! Donna has a wonderful way of weaving words and bringing the gritty texture of reality into focus. I've bought this book for everyone in my family and am anxiously awaiting her next one. We got to meet with the author and she is an incredible person!

I'm grateful for this book

I love this book because it makes me see the world through the eyes of someone who can't take food on the table and a roof over her head for granted. The choices she makes in life and love are simpler and more complicated than ours because of that. For her to be able to remain grateful for her life both humbles me and touches me deeply.

Authentic Mexican Woman

The Magda of Donna Gershten's Kissing the Virgin's Mouth is someone who has known the harsh beauty and cruel truth of life for women in Mexico, and I believe that Gershten must have done so also. Her characters are vivid and real. The blood that Magda's mother and her tia Chucha offer the baby Jesus blends with the blood of thousands who have gone before her. The language that Gershten uses to describe their offering is authentic, lyrical, and compelling. I trust it, and trust that the author knows Mexican women. A BEAUTIFUL tale, with heart and poetry and a cadence I only hear when I am in Mexico.

A Beautiful, Haunting Work

This is an exquisite novel, full of heat and violent with story. From the first page, the lyrical voice of Magda grabbed me by the throat and did not let go. She is in unforgettable character - rebellious, resourceful, imaginative and eccentric. Donna Gershten plants you squarely in Magda's world and while you make your way through that world you may learn plenty you didn't already know - about the nature of longing and the resilience of the spirit.