Sometimes they talk all night long. In the still darkness of their cell, Molina re-weaves the glittering and fragile stories of the film he loves, and the cynical Valentin listens. Valentin believes in the just cause which makes all suffering bearable; Molina believes in the magic of love which makes all else endurable. Each has always been alone, and always - especially now - in danger of betrayal. But in cell 7 each surrenders to the other something of himself that he has never surrendered before.
Kiss Of The Spider Woman (Arena Books)
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Review
Dazzling...a triumph (Observer )
Puig dazzles one with sheer technical ability (Newsday )
In exceptional form, Puig weaves his own shimmering web around a classic theme (Newsweek )
Richly ambivalent and mysterious (Washington Post )
Puig dazzles one with sheer technical ability (Newsday )
In exceptional form, Puig weaves his own shimmering web around a classic theme (Newsweek )
Richly ambivalent and mysterious (Washington Post )
Book Description
A heart-rending tale of love, passion, politics and betrayal.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Blue Yates
Format:Paperback
Puig's masterpiece is the story of trust and betrayal that takes place in an Argentinean prison in the 1970s. The two main characters are Molina, imprisoned for homosexuality, and Valentin, a political revolutionary. To help pass time, Molina recounts the stories and memories of his favourite movies. The first of these is the classic noir 'Cat People', and further movies concerning the Resistance in Nazi-occupied France, Zombies and others. This vehicle gives Puig an opportunity to tell stories within stories. Much of the book is written as an exchange of dialogue, more like a piece of drama than a novel, and also includes footnotes that discuss the nature of homosexuality as a psychological condition.
This Freudian environment, with the addition of Puig's astonishing mixture of forms, gives the book its backdrop. Over this background Puig tells us a story of how Molina and Valentin are drawn together by circumstance and then forced apart by fate. In terms of both form and content Kiss of the Spider Woman is a breathtaking and powerful work that is destined to become a modern classic.
Translation by Thomas Colchie
This Freudian environment, with the addition of Puig's astonishing mixture of forms, gives the book its backdrop. Over this background Puig tells us a story of how Molina and Valentin are drawn together by circumstance and then forced apart by fate. In terms of both form and content Kiss of the Spider Woman is a breathtaking and powerful work that is destined to become a modern classic.
Translation by Thomas Colchie
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By M. B. Alcat
Format:Paperback
"Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1976) is a novel written by Manuel Puig (1932-1990), an Argentinian playwright, novelist and screenwriter. Its subject is controversial, as it delves upon themes such as sexual identity, violence and torture. All the same, I think reading it is worthwhile, as it is one of those books that tell a story that comes alive to the reader...
In case you haven't heard about "Kiss of the Spider Woman", I will tell you a little about its plot. The main characters are Valentin and Molina, two men that share a prison cell, during the Argentinian dictatorship of the late 1970's. Molina is a sensitive soul that happens to be an homosexual, and Valentin a revolutionary that despises the fact that Molina has no political ideas (and is confused by the notion that someone can choose to be gay). Due to the fact that both share the same cell, Valentin and Molina spend some time talking to each other about their ideas and feelings, something they wouldn't have done in any other circumstance. Despite their differences, an unlikely friendship will begin between them, a friendship that may well turn into something more. However, there is more than one twist that will surprise you in this story, even though I won't tell you about that in order not to spoil the surprise.
On the whole, this is an engaging book that is likely to interest the reader, but that is not adequate for children, and that won't appeal to those that don't want to read a book that deals with homosexuality. I liked the way in which Puig told Valentin and Molina's story, and that is the reason why I give it 3.5 stars...
Belen Alcat
In case you haven't heard about "Kiss of the Spider Woman", I will tell you a little about its plot. The main characters are Valentin and Molina, two men that share a prison cell, during the Argentinian dictatorship of the late 1970's. Molina is a sensitive soul that happens to be an homosexual, and Valentin a revolutionary that despises the fact that Molina has no political ideas (and is confused by the notion that someone can choose to be gay). Due to the fact that both share the same cell, Valentin and Molina spend some time talking to each other about their ideas and feelings, something they wouldn't have done in any other circumstance. Despite their differences, an unlikely friendship will begin between them, a friendship that may well turn into something more. However, there is more than one twist that will surprise you in this story, even though I won't tell you about that in order not to spoil the surprise.
On the whole, this is an engaging book that is likely to interest the reader, but that is not adequate for children, and that won't appeal to those that don't want to read a book that deals with homosexuality. I liked the way in which Puig told Valentin and Molina's story, and that is the reason why I give it 3.5 stars...
Belen Alcat
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By ClareSS
Format:Paperback
Thoroughly post-modern in approach and incredibly innovative, I read this cover to cover in one sitting. Excellent plot development and deliberately disconcerting polyphonic structure with genuinely surprising twists in the tale. Don't be put off by the original (and 'difficult') structure - this book is well worth perservering with.
Wonderful stuff!
Wonderful stuff!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic
This book has a lot going on in its slender size. On the surface it is nothing more than the story of two prison inmates (Molina and Valentin) in an Argentinian jail. Read more
Published 3 days ago by jacr100
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant literature!
I chose to read this book because I was going to Argentina for a holiday. The book has an Argentinian author and it concerns the harsh political regime in that country, not so long... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. M. Brownridge
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Reality . . . Isn't Restricted by This Cell We In"
This was Puig's fourth and best-known novel. It was published in 1976 and translated into English three years later.
Much of the book consisted of dialogue. Read more
Much of the book consisted of dialogue. Read more
Published on 3 July 2008 by Reader in Tokyo
5.0 out of 5 stars
a tapestry of intrigue
As other reviewers have stated, this book is set in a prison cell in Argentina . The 2 characters are an unlikely pair, Molina an effeminate homosexual and Valentin a member of a... Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2007 by Barbbro2000
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