CBC BOOKS CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS TO READ IN FALL 2024
“With a lush, tropical setting, an entrancing protagonist, and swirling ghosts that guide and subvert, Gonzalez has crafted a darkly romantic, immersive world.” — JENNILEE AUSTRIA-BONIFACIO, author of Reuniting with Strangers
The House of the Spirits meets Mexican Gothic in a tale of love and betrayal, belonging and exile, and the supernatural forces that pervade life in the Philippines.
The secrets of the house are the secrets of the heart.
It begins with an act of betrayal that destroys the tenuous bonds of Celestina Errantes’s family. For years afterwards, Celestina longs for an escape from her unhappy home. Then an unexpected gift from her wealthy Lolo offers that chance: a long-forsaken property in Manila’s bohemian district, close to where ladies of the evening ply their trade. It is no place for a proper young woman, but this house, even with its ghosts, makes Celestina feel at home.
Celestina tears into life, losing herself in the pleasures of the night, but soon finds that the emptiness within her is not easily filled. When finally a true chance at happiness promises to save her, a sinister voice from the past returns, threatening to destroy it all.
A RARE MACHINES BOOK
“With a lush, tropical setting, an entrancing protagonist, and swirling ghosts that guide and subvert, Gonzalez has crafted a darkly romantic, immersive world.” — JENNILEE AUSTRIA-BONIFACIO, author of Reuniting with Strangers
The House of the Spirits meets Mexican Gothic in a tale of love and betrayal, belonging and exile, and the supernatural forces that pervade life in the Philippines.
The secrets of the house are the secrets of the heart.
It begins with an act of betrayal that destroys the tenuous bonds of Celestina Errantes’s family. For years afterwards, Celestina longs for an escape from her unhappy home. Then an unexpected gift from her wealthy Lolo offers that chance: a long-forsaken property in Manila’s bohemian district, close to where ladies of the evening ply their trade. It is no place for a proper young woman, but this house, even with its ghosts, makes Celestina feel at home.
Celestina tears into life, losing herself in the pleasures of the night, but soon finds that the emptiness within her is not easily filled. When finally a true chance at happiness promises to save her, a sinister voice from the past returns, threatening to destroy it all.
A RARE MACHINES BOOK
Authors
- Pages
- 315
- Published in
- Toronto, CA
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Halftitle 2
- Title 4
- Copyright 7
- Dedication 7
- Prologue Ora Pro Nobis 9
- 1 Malas, Swerte, Mana 15
- 2 Of Love and Caterpillars 20
- 3 A Birth and a Death 27
- 4 Ambos Mundos 32
- 5 Building a Monster 40
- 6 Monsters' Night 48
- 7 Unspeakable 57
- 8 Quiapo 68
- 9 Silent House 75
- 10 Feral Children 79
- 11 The House with the Dragon Gates 89
- 12 The New Lady of the House 107
- 13 Breaking Walls 109
- 14 A Sweet Life 118
- 15 New Souls for an Old House 126
- 16 Terra Incognita 138
- 17 Forever, Boy 150
- 18 Old Demons, New Ghost 157
- 19 The Grown-Ups in the House 165
- 20 Love Comes to Town 172
- 21 Rigodon 191
- 22 Crossing Borders 202
- 23 A White Night 209
- 24 Despedidas 218
- 25 Moon Dance and Dragon Pearls 234
- 26 Beautiful Serpents 252
- 27 Firestorm 266
- 28 Sweet Honeymoon House 272
- 29 Haunted 274
- 30 Broken 285
- 31 From the Hearth 297
- 32 Where the Monster Lives 300
- 33 The Flame 313
- Acknowledgements 319
- About the Author 321
- Back Cover 324
