ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although this book is a work of fiction, much of it is based on actual historical events. I consulted a range of texts and sources in my extensive research. I am particularly indebted to The Tupamaros, by María Ester Gilio, and to the photographic archive at Montevideo City Hall. I am also indebted to Evelyn Rinderknecht Alaga, who sent me home from Uruguay with a stack of dog-eared books that contributed gems to my research.
One of my most important resources was my own family. In Uruguay, my cousins Andrea Canil and Oscar Martínez offered me a warm welcome, a place in their home, and long nights of discussing Uruguayan history and culture over mate or grappa miel. Tía Mary Marazzi read a draft, and demonstrated her belief in me long ago by carrying one of my childhood essays in her purse for years. Germán Martínez strengthened my hopes and desires for Uruguay’s future. And many members of my family in Argentina, the United States, and France have held and nourished me in the long years of writing, and each of them has my heart: Cuti, Guadalupe, and Mónica López Ocón; Daniel, Claudio, and Diego Batlla; Ceci, Alex, and Megan De Robertis; Cristina De Robertis; and—last but never ever least—Margo Edwards and Thomas Frierson, Jr.
My gratitude goes to my extraordinary agent, Victoria Sanders, for her vision, acumen, and dedication, as well as to Benee Knauer for her insights and support. I am thankful to Carole Baron at Knopf for her skill, passion, and editorial finesse. My British editor, Susan Watt, also contributed insights for which I am deeply grateful.
I also thank Shanna Lo Presti, without whose encouragement and friendship I might never have finished; Carlos and Yvette Aldama, for their wisdom and for opening the most wondrous doors; Micheline Aharonian Marcom, for the way to the well; Daniel Alarcón, for his consistent generosity; Joyce Thompson, for the right words at the right time; and Jill Nagle, for sharing her savvy, Many more people read versions or excerpts of this book at various stages, whether in writing groups or as friends, and I am grateful to each one for their time, attention, and feedback—particularly to Natalia Bernal, Ilana Gerjuoy, Denise Mewbourne, and Luis Vera. I am also thankful to the incomparable faculty and staff at Mills College, as well as to the gifted fellow students I met there, for the fuel, growth, and discoveries.
This book would simply not exist as it now does without my wife, Pamela Harris, who has infused the words faith and support with new, incandescent meaning. No one has believed in this book more than you, nor brought more joy and adventure into my life. The Invisible Mountain is yours as much as it is mine, or anyone’s.
Finally, I thank my ancestors for their lives and stories. There is no more precious inheritance in this world.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CAROLINA DE ROBERTIS grew up in an Uruguayan family that emigrated to England, Switzerland, and California. Her fiction, nonfiction, and literary translations have appeared in ColorLines, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and Zoetrope Allstory, among other publications. Her translation of the contemporary Chilean novella Bonsai, by Alejandro Zambra, was published in 2008. She lives in Oakland, California, where she is at work on her second novel.
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Copyright © 2009 by Carolina De Robertis
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
www.aaknopf.com
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. and SADAIC Latin Copyrights, Inc.: Excerpt from “El Dia Que Me Quieras,” words by Alfredo Le Pera, music by Carlos Gardel, copyright © 1961 (renewed) by Korn Intersong Ed. MUS (SADAIC). All rights on behalf of Korn Intersong Ed. MUS administered by Rightsong Music, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. and SADAIC Latin Copyrights, Inc. Pemora Music Publishing Co., Inc.: Excerpt from “Caminito,” words by Gabino Coria Peñaloza, music by Juan de Dios Filiberto. Reprinted by permission of Steven Morand, on behalf of Pemora Music Publishing Co., Inc. • Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC: Excerpt from “I’ll Follow the Sun” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, copyright © 1964 by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, Tennessee 37203. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robertis, Carolina De.
The invisible mountain / by Carolina De Robertis. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-27193-8
1. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 2. Uruguay—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3618.O31535168 2009 813′.6—dc22 2009009961
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
v3.0
The Invisible Mountain Page 40