International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award 2002

Josefa Ferrer, a famous Chilean singer and star, awakens one morning to read in the Santiago newspaper that her best friend, Violeta, has been involved in a brutal act of violence. Overwhelmed with regret and plagued with guilt for not having foreseen the tragedy, Josefa feels compelled to tell Violeta's life story, one marked by lost ideals, disillusionment, and grief, which is ultimately Josefa's story, too. Through the interwoven lives of these two women, the novel explores how the demands of a woman's role as mother, wife, lover, and friend are frequently at odds with her own dreams and aspirations, and how easily the fragile bonds of friendship and family can be strained to the breaking point. For Josefa and Violeta, it is only in Antigua, under the watchful eyes of "the others", a chorus of female ancestral spirits who testify to the women's defining moments of strength and courage, that Josefa and Violeta will discover that even in the aftermath of violence and betrayal they have control over their destinies and their redemption.

Antigua and My Life Before	Nominated ISBN: 0385498012	Find out more about the author on the following websites: Read an excerpt from Antigua and My Life Before
by
Marcela Serrano
*Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden*
Nominated by:
Biblioteca Publica No. 1 Santiago Severin, Valparaiso, Chile

Books nominated for the 2002 Award
Book Information	Click here for the complete A-Z listing of nominated authors