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Title: The Journal of Antonio Montoya

Author: Rick Collignon

Narrator: Linette Geisel

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-03-11

Publisher: Iambik Audio Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The Journal of Antonio Montoya is the first book of the Guadalupe series. When little Jose Montoyas parents are killed one August morning by a cow, his Tia Ramona and his Tio Flavio are troubled by how best to raise the boy. After the funeral, they drive to their childhood home behind the village office, but before they reach the house, the front door swung open and Ramonas grandfather, Epolito Montoya, who had been dead for thirteen years, stood in the doorway. Why are you out in the rain? he said. Ramona has returned reluctantly to this isolated village in northern New Mexico and to the family that never lets go. As she tries to build a modern life here on her own terms, and still to care for young Jose, she discovers that she can reach through time, see the richness of her heritage, and reclaim riches, knowledge, art that disappeared generations ago. In fact, she can speak with her ancestors and learn their stories. These, finally, are the fortunes she will try to pass on to Jose.

Critic Reviews:

"Collignon delivers his own engaging brand of magical realism with a spare style, deadpan humor and bracingly fresh descriptions." (Publishers Weekly)

"Strongly reminiscent of the magic realism of Garcia Marquez, this is an enchanting work by a new writer." (Library Journal)

"In this quirky story death is neither mighty nor dreadful enough to be climactic." (The New York Times Book Review, Andy Solomon)

Members Reviews:

Thank you Rick Collignon for the wonderful ride!

This book captures the magic of northern New Mexico. I could not put it down. Rick Collignon

has the gift of crossing the boundaries of "the known reality" and steps into the essence of life

lived mostly off the land in small isolated mountain towns.

Thank you Rick Collignon for the wonderful ride!

Great book. New Mexican surrealism at its

Great book. New Mexican surrealism at its finest

Author's debut demonstrates amazing potential

The Journal of Antonio Montoya by Rick Collignon takes place in the Sangre de Christos mountains but has a sense of timelessness. Ramona has isolated herself in her dusty hometown after returning from several years away trying to find success as an author. She lives alone in her grandparents' house with no sense of purpose or intention until her brother and his wife die, leaving their son an orphan. When the boy's mother sits up in her casket at the graveside and tells Ramona to take care of Jose, Ramona thinks that her mind is starting to slip, but when she takes the boy home, they are greeted by her long dead grandparents who proceed to take care of the pair by cooking and irrigating the fields. Her grandmother gives her an old journal that pulls into the life of the mysterious Antonio Montoya. This book is nearly impossible to summarize. The story quietly unfurls in front of the reader, gently pulling him/her in to Ramona and Antonio's lives. Collignon's quiet prose captures the steady rhythm of small town life and how it can beat down the gentlest of souls. In the end, Ramona is changed by her discoveries in the journal, and the reader may share in her revelation.

Magical Realism in a small town in Mexico

For me, this small and enchanting book defines the term `magical realism'.