The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781451632835)

One of Mexico's most celebrated new novelists, F. G. Haghenbeck offers a beautifully written reimagining of Frida Kahlo's fascinating life and loves.

When several notebooks were recently discovered among Frida Kahlo's belongings at her home in Coyoacán, Mexico City, acclaimed Mexican novelist F. G. Haghenbeck was inspired to write this beautifully wrought fictional account of her life. Haghenbeck imagines that, after Frida nearly died when a streetcar's iron handrail pierced her abdomen during a traffic accident, she received one of the notebooks as a gift from her lover Tina Modotti. Frida called the notebook "The Hierba Santa Book" (The Sacred Herbs Book) and filled it with memories, ideas, and recipes.

Haghenbeck takes readers on a magical ride through Frida's passionate life: her long and tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, the development of her art, her complex personality, her hunger for experience, and her ardent feminism. This stunning narrative also details her remarkable relationships with Georgia O'Keeffe, Leon Trotsky, Nelson Rockefeller, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Henry Miller, and Salvador Dalí. Combining rich, luscious prose with recipes from "The Hierba Santa Book," Haghenbeck tells the extraordinary story of a woman whose life was as stunning a creation as her art.

Author: F. G. Haghenbeck
ISBN-10: 1451632835
ISBN-13: 9781451632835
Publisher: Atria Books
Language: English
Published: 09/25/2012
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.20w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/15/2012 pg. 57
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2012
Publishers Weekly 09/24/2012
Library Journal 10/01/2012 pg. 70