Who Slashed Celanire's Throat?
A Fantastical Tale
Maryse Condé
- The
- deeply
- prolific
- and
- widely
- celebrated
- author
- of
- such
- books
- as
- Segu
- and
- Tales
- from
- the
- Heart,
- Maryse
- Condé
- returns
- with
- an
- unforgettable
- new
- novel,
- Who
- Slashed
- Celanire's
- Throat?
- Inspired
- by
- a
- tragedy
- in
- the
- late
- twentieth
- century,
- Condé
- sets
- this
- fiction
- in
- the
- late
- nineteenth
- century
- with
- her
- characteristic
- blend
- of
- magical
- realism
- and
- fantasy.
- Condé
- lyrically,
- hauntingly
- imagines
- Celanire:
- a
- woman
- who
- was
- mutilated
- at
- birth
- and
- left
- for
- dead.
- Mysterious,
- seductive,
- and
- disarming,
- she
- is
- driven
- to
- uncover
- the
- truth
- of
- her
- past
- at
- any
- cost.On
- one
- hand,
- Celanire
- appears
- to
- be
- a
- saint;
- she
- is
- a
- tireless
- worker
- who
- has
- turned
- numerous
- neglected
- institutions
- into
- vibrant
- schools
- for
- motherless
- children.
- But
- she
- is
- also
- a
- woman
- apprehended
- by
- demons,
- as
- death
- and
- misfortune
- seem
- to
- follow
- in
- her
- wake.
- Who
- Slashed
- Celanire's
- Throat?
- follows
- both
- her
- triumphs
- and
- her
- trials
- as
- this
- survivor
- becomes
- a
- beautiful
- and
- powerful
- woman
- who
- travels
- from
- Guadeloupe
- to
- West
- Africa
- to
- Peru
- in
- order
- to
- solve
- the
- mysteries
- of
- her
- past
- and
- avenge
- the
- crimes
- committed
- against
- her.This
- beautifully
- rendered
- story,
- translated
- by
- Richard
- Philcox
- from
- the
- French
- edition,
- is
- sure
- to
- be
- considered
- the
- most
- dazzling
- addition
- to
- Condé's
- brilliant
- body
- of work.
