The sweep of a century, the hand of history, three women whose lives will never be the same again.

As the twentieth century dawns, so begins one of the most dramatic periods in the history of South America. Women are emancipated, Che Guevara and Fidel Castro free Cuba, the Perons take power in Argentina, and three generations of Firielli women are to live, love, and fight for their independence and freedom.

Pajarita is the founder of the dynasty, born into a rural village and constantly chafing against its narrow confines. A love-match with a circus performer offers her escape, but she is trapped in a cage of another sort when her husband becomes a monster. Her spirited daughter, Eva, enters a world shaken by revolution. Fleeing childhood abuse, and alienated from her mother, she heads to Buenos Aires, but the glittering circles she moves in cannot erase the memories of her past. Her daughter, Salome, driven by political passion becomes a guerrilla fighter, but her idealism turns to tragedy when she is captured, and brutalised.

From bohemian Buenos Aires to the hills of Rio de Janeiro; from tangos to demonstrations; from the broad sweep of history to the intimate lives of the Fierelli family, THE INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN traverses a changing South America, in which some things - love, family, hope - continue forever.

About the Author

Carolina de Robertis was born in Uruguay and knows her subject intimately. She has lived across the world in Europe and the Americas and currently divides her time between the US and Uruguay.

Reviews

'A lyrical, haunting story about three generations of an extraordinary family, and an evocative tribute to the endurance of women and the spirit of poetry'
Diana Gabaldon

'Dense and lush, filled with lyrical storytelling'
Kirkus Reviews

'Deeply engrossing...This novel makes us ponder the struggles of our own grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, and gives us the compassion to recognize that the links between us are deeper than the differences. A fierce, wise, and tender tale'
Anita Amirrezvani, author of The Blood of Flowers

'An incantatory debut...This visionary book beautifully, bravely breaks open all the old secrets'
Elle

'De Robertis is a skilled storyteller, but it is her use of language-from the precision of poetry to the sensuality of sex-that makes this literary debut so exceptional'
Michele Leber, Booklist (starred review)

Book Information
ISBN 9780007302833
Author Carolina De Robertis
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint HarperCollins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 290g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 26mm