Manuel Puig

Manuel Puig's "dazzling and wholly original debut" (New York Times Book Review) is a startling anatomy of a small town in thrall to its own petty lusts, betrayals, scandals, thefts, and gossip--but most of all, to the movies. When it appeared in 1968, Manuel Puig's debut--a portrait of the artist as a child in small-town Argentina--was hailed as revolutionary. Borrowing from the language of "true romance" and movie magazines, the techniques of American modernism, and Hollywood montage, Puig created an exuberant queer aesthetic while also celepating the secret lives of women. Hanging on the conversations of his mother, friends, and neighbors, Puig's stand-in Toto pieces together stories as full of passion, desire, and revenge as anything dreamed up for the silver screen. "A screamingly funny book, with scenes of such utter bathos that only a student of final reels such as Puig could possibly have verbally recreated for us" (Alexander Coleman, New York Times), it is also a bittersweet love letter to the golden age of Hollywood.

Valentin and Molina seemingly share little other than a cell in this queer classic ahead of its time.'Dazzling... a triumph' ObserverSometimes they talk all night long. In the still darkness of their Buenos Aires prison cell, Molina re-weaves the glittering and fragile stories of the film he loves, and the cynical Valentin listens. Valentin believes in the just cause that makes all suffering bearable; Molina believes in the magic of love that makes all else endurable. Though they seemingly share little other than a cell, the two form a bond so intimate - and a relationship so profoundly affecting - that only the other could understand.'A visionary work that breathed life into certain dimensions of human possibility long before society at large was prepared to imagine them.' Carolina de Robertis, Los Angeles Review of Books

El libro que ha inspirado una adaptaci n estrenada or la primerz vez en el Sundance Festival, con las actuaci nes de Jennifer Lopez y Diego Luna. Descubre el mundo fascinante de la obra m s celebrada de Manuel Puig, El beso de la mujer ara a, una novela que ha cautivado a los lectores e inspirado un musical galardonado. Ad ntrate en los confines de una prisi n argentina, donde dos hombres aparentemente opuestos est n unidos por el destino. Molina, un encantador pero autocr tico escaparatista homosexual, y Valent n, un ferviente revolucionario consumido por sus ideales y el recuerdo de un amor perdido, comparten una celda y una conexi n improbable. A medida que los d as se convierten en noches, sus conversaciones cautelosas revelan la profundidad de sus almas, y un delicado v nculo comienza a formarse. Molina escapa de la dura realidad de la vida en prisi n a trav s de sus v vidas narraciones de pel culas rom nticas y fant sticas, atrayendo a Valent n a su mundo de sue os cinematogr ficos. Lo que comienza como una interacci n cautelosa lentamente florece en una profunda amistad, desafiando sus percepciones sobre el amor, la lealtad y el sacrificio. El beso de la mujer ara a es una exploraci n magistral del esp ritu humano, una elegante danza entre el amor y la victimizaci n, la fantas a y la realidad. Con cada vuelta de p gina, Puig teje una narrativa que es intensamente cautivadora y elegantemente conmovedora, dejando a los lectores fascinados por el poder transformador de la conexi n en los lugares m s oscuros. nete a Molina y Valent n en su viaje de autodescubrimiento y presencia c mo la magia de la narraci n puede iluminar incluso los rincones m s sombr os del coraz n humano. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The book that has inspired an adaptation, premiered for the first time at the Sundance Festival, with performances by Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna Discover the mesmerizing world of Manuel Puig's most celebrated work, El beso de la mujer ara a / The Kiss of the Spider Woman, a novel that has captivated readers and inspired an award-winning musical. Step into the confines of an Argentine prison, where two seemingly opposite men are bound together by fate. Molina, a charming yet self-effacing gay window dresser, and Valent n, a fervent revolutionary consumed by his ideals and the memory of a lost love, share a cell and an unlikely connection. As days turn into nights, their guarded conversations reveal the depths of their souls, and a delicate bond begins to form. Molina escapes the harsh reality of prison life through his vivid retellings of romantic and fantastical movies, drawing Valent n into his world of cinematic dreams. What starts as a cautious interaction slowly blossoms into a profound friendship, challenging their perceptions of love, loyalty, and sacrifice. El beso de la mujer ara a / The Kiss of the Spider Woman is a masterful exploration of the human spirit, an elegant dance between love and victimization, fantasy and reality. With each turn of the page, Puig weaves a narrative that is both intensely compelling and gracefully poignant, leaving readers enthralled by the transformative power of connection in the darkest of places. Join Molina and Valent n on their journey of self-discovery and witness how the magic of storytelling can illuminate even the most shadowed corners of the human heart.

Alun perin vuonna 1976 julkaistu Hämähäkkinaisen suudelma on argentiinalaisen Manuel Puigin neljäs ja tunnetuin romaani, josta on tehty myös kuuluisa elokuva. Se on tarina kahdesta vangista, Molinasta ja Valentínista. Romaanin kehyskertomus sijoittuu 1970-luvun Etelä-Amerikkaan, jossa vallitsee sotilasjuntan hirmuhallinto. Keski-ikäinen Molina on avoimesti homoseksuaalinen somistaja ja joutunut vankilaan "alaikäisen korruptoimisesta". Valentín puolestaan on poliittinen vanki, joka kuuluu hallituksen kumoamista suunnittelevaan vallankumoukselliseen ryhmään. Molina kuluttaa aikaansa muistelemalla ja kuvailemalla Valentínille kohtauksia suosikkielokuvistaan. Valentín osallistuu esittäen kysymyksiä ja omia näkemyksiään toisen kertomuksista. Keskusteluihin uppoutuminen tarjoaa hetkellisen pakoreitin tyrmästä, sotilasdiktatuurin väkivaltaisesta ilmapiiristä, ja piilopaikan itseltään kohtaloltakin. Hämähäkkinaisen suudelma on mestarillinen moderni romaani. Se on koskettava kertomus sotilanjuntan armoilla elävien ihmisten kohtaloista. Kirja ilmestyy Teoksen käännöskirjallisuuden Baabel-sarjassa, jossa julkaistaan merkittävää aikaisemmin suomentamatonta kirjallisuutta.

A tale of intrigue and sexual entrapment. In this artful fusion of espionage thriller and science fiction, Manuel Puig tells one story shared by three women-an actress in the 1930s, living in her husband’s fairy-tale castle; a young woman in Mexico City in the 1970s, convalescing in a hospital; and a futuristic cyborg sex slave, occupying an artificial landscape. In the haunting and mysterious language for which he is renowned, Puig explores the links between these women, as well as the links between genders and generations. Best known for his novel Kiss of the Spider Woman, which has been adapted as a movie and a Broadway musical, Manuel Puig (1932–1990) also wrote Blood of Requited Love and Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages (both published by the University of Minnesota Press, 1999), as well as Betrayed by Rita Hayworth, Heartbreak Tango, and The Buenos Aires Affair.

In his first novel in English, Manuel Puig strikes a balance between irony and sympathy as he tells of the dealings of two men whose deceptive reminiscences recall those of the characters in his better-known Kiss of the Spider Woman. Larry, a down-and-out writer, is paid to push a wheelchair-bound Argentine political exile, Ramirez, around Greenwich Village. Through their journeys and their conversations about sex and politics, we witness the collision of two "solitary fantasy systems, " revealing the men to be enmeshed in the lies that make up their bitter, shadowy symbiosis.

This inventive novel is a series of questions and confessional answers, an internal dialogue between Josemar, a construction worker, and Maria, a privileged young woman. Looking back at the teenage passion they shared from the remove of ten years, they try to reconstruct their story despite the obstacles of time's passage, societal disapproval, and family pressure. See in a provincial Brazilian town, Blood of Requited Love explores memory and its failing, self-deception and its costs, and the hidden manacles of machismo. Back in print after being unavailable for several years, this novel is a moving work that combines the high drama of pulp fiction with Puig's acclaimed, incisive writing style.

Compiled together for the first time, here are three plays by Argentine novelist and playwright Manual Puig: the well-known Kiss of the Spider Woman, a sharply provocative tale of love, victimization, and fantasy, and of the friendship that develops between two strikingly different men imprisoned together in a Latin American jail; Puig's first drama written directly for the stage, Under a Mantle of Stars, a recurring dream that is never ending; and Mystery of the Rose Bouquet, an astute tale of deep compassion and illusion. These eminently readable plays highlight all the gifts that make Puig's fiction so remarkable. This is convincing proof that Manual Puig was one of our most talented writers - no matter what the medium. Puig is the author of seven novels, translated into fourteen languages.

In the still darkness of their cell, Molina re-weaves the glittering and fragile stories of the film he loves, and the cynical Valentin listens. Valentin believes in the just cause which makes all suffering bearable; Each has always been alone, and always - especially now - in danger of betrayal.

NOW A NEW MAJOR MOTION PICTURE - In an Argentine prison, two unlikely cellmates form a bond as they share stories and beliefs, despite their differences. "Extremely moving . . . Puig weaves his own shimmering web around a classic theme." ―Newsweek In an Argentine prison, two men share a cell: Molina, a gay window dresser who is self-centered, self-denigrating, yet charming as well; and Valentin, an articulate, fiercely dogmatic revolutionary haunted by memories of a woman he left for the cause. Sometimes they talk all night long. In the still darkness of their Buenos Aires prison cell, Molina re-weaves the glittering and fragile stories of the film he loves, and the cynical Valentin listens. Valentin believes in the just cause that makes all suffering bearable; Molina believes in the magic of love that makes all else endurable. Though they share little other than a cell, the two form a bond so intimate―and a relationship so profoundly affecting―that only the other could understand. A graceful, intensely compelling novel about love and victimization and a classic of queer literature, Kiss of the Spider Woman has been adapted into an Academy Award-winning 1985 film and a Tony Award-winning 1993 musical.

Kiss of the Spider Woman is a graceful, intensely compelling novel about love and victimization. In an Argentine prison, two men share a cell: Molina, a gay window dresser who is self-centered, self-denigrating, yet charming as well; and Valentin, an articulate, fiercely dogmatic revolutionary haunted by memories of a woman he left for the cause. Both are gradually transformed by their guarded but growing friendship and by Molina's obsession with the fantasy and romance of the movies.