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So Far from God: A Novel Paperback – June 17, 2005

by Ana Castillo (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 457 ratings
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One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels
The beloved feminist classic of Chicano literature that "could be the offspring of a union between One Hundred Years of Solitude and General Hospital: a sassy, magical, melodramatic love child who won’t sit down―and the reader can hope―will never shut up…As readable as a teen-aged sister’s secret diary―and as impossible to resist" (Barbara Kingsolver, Los Angeles Times Book Review).

"Wacky, wild, y bien funny." ―Sandra Cisneros, author of The House of Mango Street and Women Hollering Creek

"Castillo is una storyteller de primera…So Far from God is the novel that wasn’t there before but which I’d been missing.” ―Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents

In Tome, a small, seemingly sleepy New Mexico hamlet, Sofia and her four fated daughters reveal a world of marvels where the comic and horrific, past and present, real and fantastic coexist and collide.

Over two crowded decades, Sofia tries to hold things together following the disappearance of her husband, Domingo, he of the Clark Gable mustache and the uncontrollable gambling habit. Adventurous Esperanza, Chicana campus radical turned television news reporter, travels farthest from home only to be reeled back in spirit. Beautiful Caridad, a nurse who dulls the pain of being jilted with nightly bouts of alcohol and anonymous sex finally finds love again―and a sharp drop off a tall cliff. Practical Fe, dutiful bank worker who wishes more than anything for stability, upon being dumped by her fiancé, lets out a year-long primal scream. And mysterious La Loca, dies (maybe?) and is resurrected at age three, leaving her both attuned to higher spiritual frequencies and allergic to human touch.

Exuberant and powerful, funny and profound, So Far from God is “a hymn to the endurance of women, both physical and spiritual” (Washington Post Book World).

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    June 17, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393326934
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393326932
  8. See all details
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The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exuberant and slangy...a chili mix of the conversational and poetic...haunting...profound...powerful."
― Boston Globe

"History may one day proclaim So Far from God the breakthrough novel about Chicano life that Ana Castillo…was born to write…Compulsively readable, lilting, and profound…A teaching story that delights as much as it instructs, bringing us memorable characters whose lives stay with us long after the book’s end."
― San Francisco Chronicle

"The author tells an important story and she tells it with inventiveness and verve…So Far from God is a hymn to the endurance of women, both physical and spiritual."
― Washington Post Book World

"Ana Castillo has gone and done what I always wanted to do―written a Chicana telenovela―a novel roaring down Interstate 25 at one hundred and fifteen miles an hour with an almanac of Chicanoismo―saints, martyrs, T.V. mystics, home remedies, little miracles, dichos, myths, gossip, recipes-fluttering from the fender like a flag. Wacky, wild, y bien funny. Dale gas, girl!"
― Sandra Cisneros, author of The House of Mango Street and Women Hollering Creek

"Ana Castillo is una storyteller de primera…Her voice is distinctive-zany, knowing, rhythmic, with its very own mix of Latino–U.S. of A. cadences…able to hold our attention from the first to last page of this packed, picaresque novel. So Far from God is the novel that wasn’t there before but which I’d been missing. Bravo, Ana!"
― Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents

"Exciting and wonderful! I gave it to my mother, my sister, my daughter, my whole family. Anybody who's ever been the daughter of a mother will appreciate this book."
― Ntozake Shange, author of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf

"Ana Castillo is immensely insightful in every sense of the word…A writer with enormous integrity, with common sense and lyric sense, yet one who passes back and forth between more than one psychic world…and is able to bring back what she has seen and sensed into the land of her intense and beautifully crafted writing."
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., author of Women Who Run with the Wolves

"While reading, you may get an eerie feeling that you are 12 years old and back in your grandmother's kitchen smelling all those wonderful smells and hearing all her curious stories."
― Hispanic News

"Castillo is simply dazzling, tossing off miracles, scathing social commentary, and smart-ass humor as easily and naturally as shaking water from a mane of wet hair."
― Booklist

About the Author

Ana Castillo is a celebrated and distinguished poet, novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator, and independent scholar.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (June 17, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393326934
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393326932
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 457 ratings

About the author

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Ana Castillo

Ana Castillo

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Ana Castillo is a celebrated and distinguished poet, novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator and independent scholar. Her new book is BLACK DOVE: Essay on Mama, Mi'jo, & Me.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
457 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

RS
5.0 out of 5 stars An All-Time Favorite and Popular in English Courses
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
I read this book first as an undergrad and it quickly became one of my all-time favorite stories. This is the only book that has been assigned to me more than once and in fact three of my professors assigned it. It's a magical story written with beautiful language that inspires fantastic imagery. There are so many levels going on in this story and it gets even better with every reading.
7 people found this helpful
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Ruth P. Price
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful & Diverse Characters
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2022
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The characters are always interesting; some are, at times, crazy or perhaps simply in touch with the unseen, some have intuition, and some crave normalcy. The novel is filled with surprises, sadness and poignancy.
4 people found this helpful
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Calla
5.0 out of 5 stars God bless magical realism
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2018
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The language is so delightful and really captures the dialect, very fun to read. As you read this you might ask yourself, “wait, what just happened??” Because of all the artful plot twists and subtle (and not so subtle) bursts of supernatural occurrences.
One person found this helpful
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donyskiw
5.0 out of 5 stars Magical Realism at its best
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2014
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This is truly a wonderful novel. I have always been amazed at how a storyteller can tell a realistic tale, throw in some magic, and have it not sound like science fiction. Ana Castillo tells a great story of a mother and her four unique daughters with humor and with seriousness that gives you those goosebumps that come from a touch from beyond this world. I especially liked the Stations of the Cross of the Poor of Our Time.
5 people found this helpful
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S. Mitchell
3.0 out of 5 stars It was a great story but on my Kindle it had a lot
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2017
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It was a great story but on my Kindle it had a lot, and I do mean a lot, of spelling and editing errors that distracted from the read pleasure.
One person found this helpful
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Virginia
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Chicana tale
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
If you come from New Mexico, as I do, you'll especially love this novel! Full of faith, magic, superstition, beauty, tragedy, folklore... well, life, especially as women experience it. Lots of hilarity and heartbreak. A little Spanish is an asset, but not a necessity, in reading it.
5 people found this helpful
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Leo Lohman
4.0 out of 5 stars A whimsical NEW MEXICO experience based on reality.
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2020
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A basic knowledge of Spanish helped me understand lots of the nuances that would have escaped me otherwise. Ana has some keen insight in the essence of being New Mexican. A very nice blend of reality, culture, tradition and whimsy.
2 people found this helpful
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Susan S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2017
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Beautifully written, especially for someone with some familiarity with Spanish language. The author artfully weaves Spanish expressions and phrases into her writing and writes in a voice of someone for whom English is not her first language. I would read another Castillo book in a heartbeat.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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caroline g
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, funny book
Reviewed in France on August 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
Loved the writing. Full of soul.
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Valerie M Schneider
4.0 out of 5 stars Or - So Far From Men
Reviewed in Mexico on February 24, 2021
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I rated this story a 4 because I don't have adequate experience to give it a 5.

I enjoyed Castillo's writing style and her story that asked me to step into unfamiliar territory. Throughout the tragic loss of her daughters Sofia was never comforted by God or men. Women peopled her world at every turn providing support, compassion, understanding, and steadfast friendship.

Of course each child is unique, but Sofi's daughters' uniquenesses force the family to meet life's challenges be developing uncommon skills resulting in uncommon consequences.
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Julio Cruz M
5.0 out of 5 stars Tal cual se ve en la foto / Like in the picture
Reviewed in Spain on March 25, 2019
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Recomendado / Recommended
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Eva
1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Version mit zu vielen Tippfehlern
Reviewed in Germany on August 16, 2016
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Angesichts der vielen Tippfehler in der englischen Kindle Version war das Lesen dieser Ausgabe kein Vergnügen. Scheint eine gescannte Version zu sein, denn besonders bei den Namen der Protagonisten finden sich die Fehler, etwa wird aus 'Sofi' (Sophia wohl) im Wechsel immer wieder einmal 'Soft', sodass ich anfangs wirklich von zwei Charakteren ausgegangen war.
Die Charaktere in der Geschichte sind überzeichnet und verlieren dadurch ihre Glaubwürdigkeit. Mich persönlich konnte die Geschichte nicht überzeugen.
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LAUREN
1.0 out of 5 stars Lack of Editing
Reviewed in Canada on September 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
I read this book at least 20 years ago and remember really liking it. I was happy to find that it was made into an ebook. However, doesn't anyone check the content once it has been put into this format?? I have only read a few pages so far and the mother's name - Sofia - is continually typed as either Soft or Sofi. I find this distracting as well as disappointing in the level of quality control.
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