Description
A lawyer and her elderly great-aunt use their supernatural gifts to find a lost child in this richly imagined and empowering story of motherhood, magic, and legacy in the vein of The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina and La Hacienda.
If you call to the witches, they will come.
1943, El Paso, Texas: teenager Nena spends her days caring for the small children of her older sisters, while longing for a life of freedom and adventure. The premonitions and fainting spells she has endured since childhood are getting worse, and Nena worries she'll end up like the scary old curandera down the street. Nena prays for help, and when the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives late one night, Nena is taken across borders of space and time for a life-changing experience in colonial Mexico.
In the present-day, Nena's grand-niece Marta is balancing motherhood and a struggling legal aid practice, just as her own supernatural powers are emerging. When the 93-year-old Nena's care is added to Marta's already full plate, the two women's destinies become irrevocably intertwined, as they both struggle to find fulfillment and escape through La Vista, or "the hum," a mysterious, inherited magical ability that allows its recipients to tap into the subconscious hunger for destruction, rebirth, the natural world, lust, and the call to heed our darkest desires and brightest truths.
Blending historical fiction with magical realism, The Witches of El Paso explores the enticing and destructive magic that arises out of the depths of human desire, to tell a story of empowerment and wonder that transcends borders both physical and metaphorical.
"Sexy, smart, and soulful, Luis Jaramillo's The Witches of El Paso pulls us across borders and time to get to the essence of what it means for families to survive this beautiful, fractured world" (Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk).
About the Author
Luis Jaramillo is the author of The Witches of El Paso and the award-winning short story collection, The Doctor's Wife. His writing has appeared in LitHub, BOMB Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at The New School. He received an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and an MFA from The New School. Find out more at LuisJaramillo.com.
Reviews
"Luis Jaramillo weaves a captivating tale of family, tradition, and the enduring power of love. His vivid prose and intriguing plot make his novel hard to put down!"-Reyna Grande, author of A Ballad of Love and Glory
"Gorgeous and thrilling, The Witches of El Paso casts a revelatory spell. I didn't want it to end."-R. O. Kwon, Bestselling author of Exhibit and The Incendiaries
"Spanning borders and centuries, The Witches of El Paso is a wild, wondrous novel about the magic that is singing all around us. With this story, Luis Jaramillo shows us how to catch the tune."-Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth, an international bestseller and National Book Award Finalist
"Sexy, smart and soulful, Luis Jaramillo's The Witches of El Paso pulls us across borders and time to get to the essence of what it means for families to survive this beautiful, fractured world."-Mira Jacob, national bestselling author of Good Talk
"Jaramillo's atmospheric prose conjures the dusty El Paso of the past, and depictions of La Vista vibrate with 'colorful knots of waves,' glowing indigo, maroon, and bright pink, yielding 'a wild spell, like yeast in the air.' This riveting page-turner affirms the adage, 'Family stories teach us how to live. Family secrets teach us to kill parts of ourselves.'
"Gripping and cinematic, the novel's worlds of El Paso past and present will bewitch and enrapture."-Kirkus (starred review)
Book Information
ISBN 9781668092811
Author Luis Jaramillo
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Threshold Editions
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Weight(grams) 273g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 18mm
If you call to the witches, they will come.
1943, El Paso, Texas: teenager Nena spends her days caring for the small children of her older sisters, while longing for a life of freedom and adventure. The premonitions and fainting spells she has endured since childhood are getting worse, and Nena worries she'll end up like the scary old curandera down the street. Nena prays for help, and when the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives late one night, Nena is taken across borders of space and time for a life-changing experience in colonial Mexico.
In the present-day, Nena's grand-niece Marta is balancing motherhood and a struggling legal aid practice, just as her own supernatural powers are emerging. When the 93-year-old Nena's care is added to Marta's already full plate, the two women's destinies become irrevocably intertwined, as they both struggle to find fulfillment and escape through La Vista, or "the hum," a mysterious, inherited magical ability that allows its recipients to tap into the subconscious hunger for destruction, rebirth, the natural world, lust, and the call to heed our darkest desires and brightest truths.
Blending historical fiction with magical realism, The Witches of El Paso explores the enticing and destructive magic that arises out of the depths of human desire, to tell a story of empowerment and wonder that transcends borders both physical and metaphorical.
"Sexy, smart, and soulful, Luis Jaramillo's The Witches of El Paso pulls us across borders and time to get to the essence of what it means for families to survive this beautiful, fractured world" (Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk).
About the Author
Luis Jaramillo is the author of The Witches of El Paso and the award-winning short story collection, The Doctor's Wife. His writing has appeared in LitHub, BOMB Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at The New School. He received an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and an MFA from The New School. Find out more at LuisJaramillo.com.
Reviews
"Luis Jaramillo weaves a captivating tale of family, tradition, and the enduring power of love. His vivid prose and intriguing plot make his novel hard to put down!"-Reyna Grande, author of A Ballad of Love and Glory
"Gorgeous and thrilling, The Witches of El Paso casts a revelatory spell. I didn't want it to end."-R. O. Kwon, Bestselling author of Exhibit and The Incendiaries
"Spanning borders and centuries, The Witches of El Paso is a wild, wondrous novel about the magic that is singing all around us. With this story, Luis Jaramillo shows us how to catch the tune."-Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth, an international bestseller and National Book Award Finalist
"Sexy, smart and soulful, Luis Jaramillo's The Witches of El Paso pulls us across borders and time to get to the essence of what it means for families to survive this beautiful, fractured world."-Mira Jacob, national bestselling author of Good Talk
"Jaramillo's atmospheric prose conjures the dusty El Paso of the past, and depictions of La Vista vibrate with 'colorful knots of waves,' glowing indigo, maroon, and bright pink, yielding 'a wild spell, like yeast in the air.' This riveting page-turner affirms the adage, 'Family stories teach us how to live. Family secrets teach us to kill parts of ourselves.'
"Gripping and cinematic, the novel's worlds of El Paso past and present will bewitch and enrapture."-Kirkus (starred review)
Book Information
ISBN 9781668092811
Author Luis Jaramillo
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Threshold Editions
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Weight(grams) 273g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 18mm
