This whole thing is exceedingly od...

This whole thing is exceedingly odd, Esperanza.

I'll do the impossible, level what can't be done, because trust is the last to die. (1)

encompassed by images of her saints, sheltered, and all too innocent, Esperanza Diaz, the pious protagonist of Maria Amparo Escandon's first novel, has wearied her entire orderly and unremarkable life in the same Mexican village, living too briefly with her solitary love and spending her lengthy widowhood chastely cherishing his memory and raising their daughter, Blanca, with the help of her best girlfriend. (2) This seemingly prosaic woman introduces