The Mexican-American author Ana Castillo was born in Chicago in 1953. Considered a pioneer in the field of Chicana studies and Chicana literature, 'So Far From God' is her ninth published work, coming after the likes of 'Peel My Love Like an Onion' and 'Massacre of the Dreamers'.
Blending multiple genres - including the comic and the supernatural - 'So Far From God' narrates the trials and tribulations of a Chicano family in 1990s New Mexico. Whilst concentrating on the family, the novel also tackles broader societal themes such as the state of the environment and the AIDS epidemic. Taking inspiration from a number of literary sources and movements, for example the Latin American Magical Realist movement, Castillo constructs three-dimensional and dynamic female characters, sisters and daughters, which is in keeping with the author's personal feminist views and writings. A carefully written novel, and one that truly reflects the feminist adage of 'the personal is the political', 'So Far From God', part of the ever expanding Chicano literary canon, reminds us of the enduring power of the suppressed female voice.
