A road novel a comingofage tale and a raunchy slapstick comedy that tellsin careening charismatic proseamp8212the true story of the theft of the body of Saint John of the CrossIn August 1592 a bailiff and his two assistants arrive at the monastery of amp218beda with the secret task of transferring the remains of Saint John of the Cross the great Carmelite poet and mystic to his final abode When they exhume him they find the saints body as incorrupt and fresh as when he diedamp160Thus commences a series of adventures and misfortunes populated by characters that seem to be drawn from mythology Luis Felipe Fabre masterfully incorporates Saint Johns verses into his prose as if the saint had prophesied the delirium that would surround his own posthumous transfer This funny highly entertaining novel manages to honor the mystical poetry of the Carmelite while inviting the reader to reflect on issues such as the sacred and the profane the body and the soul and spiritual as well as carnal ecstasyamp160
