Overview

The late Severo Sarduy was one of the most outrageous and baroque of the Latin American Boom writers of the sixties and seventies, and here bound back to back are his two finest creations. Cobra (1972) recounts the tale of a transvestite named Cobra, star of the Lyrical Theater of the Dolls, whose obsession is to transform his/her body. She is assisted in her metamorphosis by the Madam and Pup, Cobra's dwarfish double. They too change shape, through the violent ceremonies of a motorcycle gang, into a sect of Tibetan lamas seeking to revive Tantric Buddhism. Maitreya (1978) continues the theme of metamorphosis, this time in the person of Luis Leng, a humble Cuban-Chinese cook, who becomes a reincarnation of Buddha. Through Leng, Sarduy traces the metamorphosis of two hitherto incomparable societies, Tibet at the moment of the Chinese invasion, and Cuba at the moment of revolution. Transgressing genres and genders, reveling in literal and figurative transvestism, these twonovels are among the most daring achievements of postmodern Latin American fiction.

ISBN-13

9781564780768

ISBN-10

1564780767

Weight

0.87 Pounds

Dimensions

5.56 x 0.82 x 9.06 In

List Price

$13.95

Format

Paperback

Language

English

Pages

273 pages

Publisher

Dalkey Archive Press

Published On

2005-12-03



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bookbooth
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