Bruna and Her Sisters in the Sleeping City

Originally published in Spanish, this 1973 novel is the first of Cossio's books to be offered in English translation. Cossio, one of Ecuador's preeminent woman writers, poetically details the emotional and physical escape of 20-year-old Bruna Catovil from her Ecuadorian home, the Sleeping City--so named for its soroche, or sleep-inducing mountain sickness--where her family spreads shame as effortlessly as it squandered its once formidable fortune. Bruna's eccentric, scandalous ancestors initially seem to be exotic names confined to legends. But each of them plays a significant role in establishing the rigid, outworn code of behavior from which Bruna flees. After generations of secrets and lies, Bruna gradually unearths the buried truths, learning that her great-great-grandmother, Maria Illacatu (Maria the 23rd), was Indian, her dark skin painted white in a portrait to suggest a European bloodline. Carmela the Tearful, Bruna's grandmother, expresses her hatred for men by forcing her young nephew Francisco to dress as a girl. Alvarito Villa-Cato spends his life weaving a red carpet to stretch to Rome, hoping to entice the pope to visit. The family attributes their various members' afflictions to the soroche. But superstition eventually gives way to awareness when Bruna learns that soroche is another word for ignorance. Despite its dangers, the Sleeping City is a dreamy landscape that allows Cossio to exhibit her poetic sensibilities. The fantastic ancestral home is haunted by mischievous ghosts and a well is said to contain the penetrating ""eye of the Devil."" American audiences will appreciate the magical realism that Cossio adroitly employs. While details of Ecuadorian social history and folklore may be unfamiliar, this story of a young woman's search for identity is a classic one. (Dec.)