Federico Garcia Lorca, 1898-1936
November 20, 2024
Amazon review entitled: A Must Read Book Opening Minds to Acceptance and Empathy
Jennifer Chapin’s creative storytelling in this book invites readers on a transformative journey of acceptance, much like Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist does through the wisdom of Santiago. The protagonist, Angelina, navigates her path with a depth of insight that guides us toward greater enlightenment. Her journey mirrors that of individuals searching for understanding and purpose in a world often divided by differences.
Chapin’s ability to vividly describe the various settings transports readers into a rich, sensory experience. From the scent of jasmine and musk to the detailed landscapes, you can almost feel present in the scenes. This immersive writing style is reminiscent of Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, where the surroundings become a character in themselves, engaging all the senses and enhancing the emotional connection to the story.
Beyond the compelling narrative and evocative imagery, what makes this book truly stand out is its message of inclusion and understanding. Through Angelina's experiences, Chapin deftly explores themes of empathy, compassion, and the importance of embracing diversity. These themes make this book not only an unforgettable read but also an essential one for young minds. It offers a gentle yet powerful nudge to open hearts to people from all walks of life, making it a highly recommended read for high school students.
This book not only captivated me to the point where I could not put it down but also stirred personal memories, evoking nostalgia and reflection. It’s a book that leaves a lasting impression and has the potential to inspire meaningful discussions among readers of all ages.
Wayne C. Beno
Retired Naval Officer and Author
Indie Reader Review (4.0 out of 5 stars):
Chapin’s lyrical language and talent for crafting evocative imagery consistently elevate this book beyond typical historical fantasy. For example, Angelina is introduced with a poetic description: “She twirled round and round like a spinning top, her hair an aureole of red and gold. Her skirt swirled around her in fuchsia disarray, like the petals of a flower opening its arms to the sun on a warm summer day.” While this lyrical tendency occasionally reads like purple prose, for the most part the author refrains from indulging too excessively. The novel has a simple, some might say uneventful plot, and the storyline involving the rift between Angelina and her mother is tied up a bit too neatly and perfunctorily at the end. However, the quality of the writing is so exceptional that issues of plot almost seem beside the point. The dialogue between Angelina and Lorca is interesting enough on its own without the addition of extraneous plot points.
THE POET AND THE ANGEL is a moving exploration of the life and death of Frederico Garcia Lorca that offers historical insight and cultural relevance. While the plot is spare, the author’s language is enchanting.
~Lisa Butts for IndieReader
March 19, 2022
5- star Amazon review from Daniel Love, entitled A Spanish Andalusian Dream in Granada:
I liked this book because as I read the words, I was taken into a dream state as if I was in a Walt Disney animated movie. Maybe someday Jennifer Chapin’s book might become an animated movie! My mind animated her words vividly in my mind. In 2015 my wife and daughter went to Portugal and Spain, so I immediately got enraptured into this story of eight year old Angelina and an old writer, who becomes her friend.
I recommend this book to historians, artists writers, cultural-anthropologists and any one else who needs to understand people who are different from themselves. The girl learns from the old man, and the old man learns from the young girl.
I rated this book as 5 stars because I read this book in two sittings. It is a page turner!
March 17, 2022
Review from Nora Specht
I have just finished reading your most precious book "The Poet & The Angel"
Dare I say...it is such an extraordinary lesson in history, psychology and parapsychology that it could and should (most particularly in these times) become a text book (a must read) for both young and mature students at school and university.
You have such a gift....
June 2, 2021
Review from Fatima Rauf
I had gotten your book and I have read it. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!! It is soo insightful and inspiring. I can tell you have put a lot of heart and thought into it. WELL DONE
After reading your book I am even more confident having you along on this new journey of mine. It's definitely a scary step because you don't know how it's gonna go when it gets out. but, I have put my emotions into each poem I wrote and there was one I wrote that was inspired by your book. You have definitely made me a fan of your work
May 13, 2021.
Review from Matteo Antoniazzi:
Hi Jennifer,
just finished your book, i absolutely loved it!!! and honestly fell in love with this Freddy Lorca fellah myself haha!!
It was a grand adventure you told, I think you captured the scene perfectly, such a beautiful interaction between Lorca and Angelina. Some things you wrote in the climax of their interaction really popped out to me and I found a lot of inspiration in your words.
Thank you so much for telling me this story!
I have a small request, If you don't mind me asking. Can I directly quote some passages in the book and credit you of course?
On my own instagram page i run called "Zoroastrafarian: good thoughts, good words, good deeds, good weed."
These are the quotes I'd like to use:
We do not select Art. Art selects us.
"Through countless hours and days of ecstasy and sorrow, sometimes not in equal measure, we become her slave, and her apprentice.
Over time we realize that we have no option but to obey her whisperings in our soul. Her will becomes ours."
I tried to point out how far from grace we had fallen.
"They treated me like the aliens they were, so dwarfed in their grasping natures and in the blind acceptance of the status quo."
The way you look at the world reflects your soul, and how you feel about yourself.
"There are some people who are bad and perpetuate the stigma of the beggar and the thief, but there are those in our own 'society' who do the same and more, yet we don't seem to vilify them quite as much. Why?"
This is the same flower, yet we look at it differently.
"Everyone will see that flower through the refracted prism of their own lens, a lens that reflects their history, cultural conditioning, thoughts, anxieties, or passions. No one will see that flower in the same way."
'Evil' has no soul.
"It can only discern that which the ego feels is in its self-interest and nothing deeper. It is utterly empty and banal and thinks it can destroy wantonly. But it thinks this way because it does not know the Muse, the Divine, and the Transcendent that lies within us all, even within those who commit evil, although they have forgotten this.
THAT is who we are, the body is only an encasement for our souls."
May 3, 2021.
From Indie Book Review: a 4 Star rating!
"Chapin’s lyrical language and talent for crafting evocative imagery consistently elevate this book beyond typical historical fantasy" and "the quality of the writing is...exceptional."
You can read the entire review here: indiereader.com/book_review/the-poet-and-the-angel/
January 27, 2021
From author Stephen Gibson
"An Important Work for our Day"
I came across this book by luck and decided to give it a chance. On the very first page, I knew it would be something special. Chapin’s writing is both passionate and vivid. While I devoured this novel at home I was really in Spain feeling the heat and the haunting history of the Alhambra. I could hear the lament of the Gypsies with their weeping violins.
Not only is this a wonderful read, but it is also an important work for our times. Given the rise of Nationalism and a general retreat from science and truth, I can only hope that enough of the right people read this work and are inspired like I am.
I eagerly look forward to Chapin’s next work.
November 24, 2020:
From author Clement Yeo-West:
I have been luxuriating in the exquisiteness of your literary brush strokes. I become so immersed in in the atmospheres and aromas of your masterfully painted imagery that I am granted glorious access to ‘tag along’ like an invisible Yenta. I have only accompanied your pair of protagonists almost half way thus-far. I read slowly to fully absorb the feel, the mood and the surroundings that are portrayed. If I especially appreciate the painting in a particular passage I will often read the passage two or three times. For that very reason I find myself re-reading sections of your word palette creativity. Marvellous! Last night...I read chapter 12 of your creative gem (twice).
Brilliant Insight……..Exquisitely Articulate
Thank You!
September 16, 2020:
From artist and writer Paul Cade
🙏🙏🙏
Hello Jennifer, I finished your book “The Poet and The Angel” and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have been to Granada, the Alhambra and Avila. I love Spain, especially Ronda, up in the Andalusian Mountains.
July 21 2020:
From Author Ellie Beals:
Hi Jennifer -
I just finished reading The Poet & The Angel.
Congratulations, on having written not just a fantastic (literally) concept steeped in appropriately sumptuous, opulent language, but also one I consider to be very brave. I think that creating something that is far out of the mainstream of contemporary literature today (well, at least North American contemporary literature) took a lot of guts. If you ever have the time or inclination, I’d be interested in knowing the genesis of this book. Was it always inside you itching to get out? Is Lorca one of your long-time loves?
(my note: Yes, Lorca is one of my loves and my book is an elegy of love to him. As I followed his spirit through the labyrinths of Granada Spain, where he was raised and ultimately executed, I felt his presence and heard his voice clearly).
I’ve spent a lot of time (more than I would have liked, frankly) in the souks of Jerusalem and other places in Israel, and the way you captured the sensuality and color of these places frozen in time is spectacular.
May 13, 2020:
From publisher and writer Warren Goulding:
Hi Jennifer:
Wow.
I just read The Poet & The Angel and I was beyond impressed with the quality of your work.
I must confess, this type of fiction has never been my genre, but The Poet was fabulous.
It sent me off wanting to know more about Lorca, Granada and the Spanish Civil War.
And it has me wondering just how much of Jennifer is in Angelina.
You are an amazing talent.
All the best,
Warren Goulding
From Amazon:
Reviewed in Canada on March 12, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars
The subtle images and muted tones of the book’s attractive cover delicately entice a reader into the textures and warmth of the Alhambra quarters in Spain, as described within the pages. Jennifer Chapin’s vivid descriptions saturate the text with light and vitality as we are privy to delightful exchanges between the two main characters. The conversations are engaging and credible – within the constraints of fantasy – and take us deep into the torments of the murdered poet, Lorca
The young girl, Angelina, and the Poet both see things that others cannot. That allows the reader unique insights, within a dialogue which drifts among gentle hills, markets, arabesque ruins, and the sun-soaked regions beside the river Darro.
Chapin has accomplished much in this highly readable novella: the imagined conversations cover a range of revelations, emotions, and historical analyses. But it’s not just the poet speaking. We learn of Angelina’s family tragedy and their understandable social predilections. A strong character, the Señora, is portrayed as sad, prejudiced, and objectionable. Yet one is attracted to her -– despite her disagreeable style – because she too has a history that we can identify with.
Chapin courageously, and effectively, tackles major socio-political themes as she gives voice to the unjustly executed poet. He speaks sympathetically for marginalized and ostracized members of the community.
I appreciated the author’s use of technical words and regional terms – such as djellaba, hookah, babouche, and kilim. They added depth and colour to the ambience and historical authenticity of the gripping tale. Further, her anthropomorphic description of nature richly captivates the reader and draws one into the reality of the little angel's experience. There are many examples: ‘…little rainbows appeared around the fountain, over the flowers, and then danced around them under a now confident sun’; ‘…the notes…ran up and down gentle hills and wound their way through olive groves, before getting caught up in their gnarled beauty’; ‘…the poppies seemed to wave tremulously at me as I passed, their colour bleeding into the clay with a plaintive cry.’
One might challenge the Poet’s idealized view of the ancient Andalusian paradise where the conquering Muslims, and subservient Jews and Christians ostensibly lived and worked in productive harmony. The reality of history is presented by Lorca’s forceful statement: “Those subjects that they subdued could keep their faith, their customs, and their places of worship, but it was upon them that the burden of taxation also fell. Were they harsh, yes! Were lives lost, absolutely!”
The even-handed perception of the author, Chapin, is encapsulated in the poet’s words: ‘…really the only devil that stalked this land was hatred inside the human heart, on both sides.’
Follow the naive wonder of the Angel as she encounters and embraces the revealing introspections of the Poet. Do read this informative and enlightening little book: you will be enriched.
Keith Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book
November 12, 2019
Format: Paperback
Poet and the angel
Most profound for me in this book is that not much has changed in the nature of humanity. From being different and accepted when it was politically OK, to being different and rejected to the point of death when society and political views changed. Frederico knew deep personal betrayal, reliving it repeatedly in sorrow and heartbreak just after death, and then released from this torment through the pure innocent angelic love of a child. Love and forgiveness were ultimately all that mattered. The mystical magical side of this tale brought out my love of story, and my quiet hope and belief that all hurts will eventually be healed
To read that the General who signed his death warrant, believed that “Lorca’s words were more destructive than ten thousand guns and that he needed to be silenced“ only illustrates the power of and the profound need for written and spoken truths. Thank you, Jennifer, for telling the story of Frederico Lorca.
4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Poetic History Lesson
September 26, 2019
Format: Paperback
This unique and creative tale of a poet and martyr is told with passion and sympathy, with colourful, flowing descriptions that are poetic in themselves. This literary lesson in Spanish history runs deeper than the pages of the book, and is cause to learn more - so that such history will not repeat.
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Spanish Civil war- another inquisition?
August 29, 2019 - Published on Amazon.com
Format: Paperback
A rather poignant tale told in the words of the Spanish poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca. Jennifer Chapin’s research and literary skills shine. She has such a lovely way of describing things, experiences, and surroundings. She paints lovely pictures and stimulates the senses with words. If you want to take a tour of Granada and the Alhambra with Lorca’s eyes, read this book.