The Long Silence of Mario Salviati : A Novel
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"This is what's always kept us together," said Jonty quietly. "It's the dream and the possibility that give meaning to Yearsonend. . . . For years now it hasn't been about gold . . . it's been about much more than that. . . . Take Mario Salviati, for instance: once the gold is found, the general will let him go. We'd be able to leave the past where it belongs. . . ."
Secrets abound in the South African Karoo -- a remote landscape of mountains and desert, where legend weaves its way into daily life. A fabulous merman sculpture miraculously appears one morning in the yard of eccentric artist Jonty Jack, and Ingi Friedlander, a young art curator for the National Gallery at Cape Town, comes to Yearsonend to buy the masterpiece. When Jonty refuses her offer, Ingi resolves to stay and win him over.
Intrigued by hints of the town's unusual history, Ingi persistently questions its inhabitants, who reveal that a mythical trove of gold is buried nearby. For several centuries gold fever has gripped the town and sent ripples of suspicion through those who live there. Tracing the roots of Yearsonend's violent and magical history of feuding families, troubled love, and corrosive greed, the narrative shuttles between the past and the present, linking two patriarchs with shadowy pasts, an earthy angel, a woman without a face, a ragtag band of soldiers, and a host of other colorful characters. As Ingi delves deeper into the mysteries of Yearsonend, she is inexplicably drawn to Mario Salviati, a deaf, dumb, and blind Italian stonecutter who holds the key to many of the town's secrets.
A spectacular climax sheds light on many unanswered questions, and Ingi and the Yearsonenders learn that they are searching not only for their past, but also for the promise of the future. With extraordinary imagination and lyricism, Etienne van Heerden captures the essence of a land steeped in myth, and of a culturally diverse people, for whom storytelling and history are inextricably linked. In the rich magic-realism tradition of One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Long Silence of Mario Salviati is an unforgettable journey toward understanding and inspiration.
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