The Journal of Antonio Montoya

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Summary: THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
Review: "This is a distinctive and appealing first novel."

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Summary: The Dead Come Back
Review: El Dia de Muerto, the day of the dead, is a Latino holy day that celebrates the return of the spirits of those loved and departed, or sometimes, with a twist, our journey to the place where the dead are living. Ramona, an artist, a lost soul of sorts, and a loner, makes that trip. It is not only the discovery of her dead parents now living at her house, and her recently deceased brother and sister-in-law, but it is the resurrection of her village and its history. What happened all those many winters ago to the Santero (the carver of saints' statues)? What happened to his carvings that at one time held magical powers of healing for those who possessed them? Ramona is a middle-aged woman, a modern woman, who has lived in the Gringo world, who has returned to her Southwestern Hispanic village and now is returning inextricably to the very earth itself. This is a journey of death and then life and the continuation of generations. A beautiful little jewel of a book.

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Summary: A poignant, magical, and quietly humorous tale.
Review: For a first novel, Rick Collignon could not have done better. The story revolves around Ramona Montoya. She rediscovers herself and her roots as a result of an accident where she finds herself the adopted mother of her nephew Jose. There is a sort of a haunting, but only of the best kind because Ramona finds assistance from her dead grandparents and others who come to remind her who she really is. It's a wonderful story meant to be read again and again. In my book, Collignon's gift of story telling is beyond compare.

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Summary: What a great book!
Review: For a first novel, Rick Collignon could not have done better. The story revolves around Ramona Montoya. She rediscovers herself and her roots as a result of an accident where she finds herself the adopted mother of her nephew Jose. There is a sort of a haunting, but only of the best kind because Ramona finds assistance from her dead grandparents and others who come to remind her who she really is. It's a wonderful story meant to be read again and again. In my book, Collignon's gift of story telling is beyond compare.

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Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: In this superb novel, the recently dead relatives and the not so recently dead relatives of an orphaned boy and his Aunt come back to "haunt" them in a way that changes their lives forever. This was a beautiful and moving novel, told with humor and written in clear stylish prose. I was immediately swept up in the world created by the author and became totally immersed in the characters and their drama. I consider this a masterpiece and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: In this superb novel, the recently dead relatives and the not so recently dead relatives of an orphaned boy and his Aunt come back to "haunt" them in a way that changes their lives forever. This was a beautiful and moving novel, told with humor and written in clear stylish prose. I was immediately swept up in the world created by the author and became totally immersed in the characters and their drama. I consider this a masterpiece and I highly recommend it.

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Summary: A rich, beautiful novel
Review: Rick Collignon is an extraordinary writer. His gift is the more impressive for his abitity to blend soul and warmth with dry wit. I have rarely encountered an author who meets such a challenge so well. Each of the inhabitants of this rich, beautiful novel is sculpted with the same care Antonio Montoya brings to the "Ladies" he creates. Desolation and Hope are at once given depth and range, making "The Journal Of Antonio Montoya" a work which changes the heart. I look forward to Mr. Collignon's future wor

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Summary: A poignant, magical, and quietly humorous tale.
Review: The Journal of Antonio Montoya is a poignant, magical, and quietly humorous tale about the acceptance of loss and change. It takes place in a hispanic community in the mountains of New Mexico, where Ramona Montoya, a reclusive artist, learns to accept life even as she learns to accept loss. I'm very glad that I read the book, and am putting it on my list of favorites.

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Summary: accessible & profound & outrageous
Review: This is my favorite kind of book: unselfconsciously literary, funny, profound, filled with characters I would like to meet, set in a place where I would like to live, telling a real story that is complete fantasy. --Mary Overton

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Summary: Rich and amusing
Review: This well-crafted story set in New Mexico was a treat: Marquez-esque arrivals of the dearly departed; wives with complusive tortilla making disorders; and lots and lots of family and family troubles. A fine first novel.