The Head of the Saint

January 15, 2016
A bitter skeptic sets out to kill his father but ends up a saint's reluctant agent in this whimsical Brazilian import. Samuel comes to the moribund town of Candeia on a mission: not the pious pilgrimage of his mother's dying wish but vengeance on the family that deserted them. After being robbed, starved, and attacked by dogs, he takes refuge in the hollow head of an unfinished monolith of St. Anthony, the failed tourist attraction blamed for the town's woes. Inexplicably, Samuel can hear prayers addressed to the saint; he mischievously sets out to answer them, quickly gaining fame (and fortune) as a wonder-working matchmaker. But not everybody is happy with the "miracles" or the prosperity that follows, for behind Candeia's poverty are dark secrets of corruption, betrayal, and murder. The influence of Acioli's mentor, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, shows in the lyrical language, earthy, surreal imagery, and dreamlike, mystical atmosphere. Unfortunately, the characterization is maddeningly elliptical; Samuel modulates from pure rage and spite to cynical (if good-hearted) meddling to purification through romantic yearning, for no evident reason. The remaining characters (especially the shallow, stereotypical women) simply blur together. Then, as ruthlessly as any villain, the plot abruptly abandons the plight of St. Anthony, Candeia, and its inhabitants to run off with Samuel toward a sickly sentimental finale. Intriguing and occasionally arresting but ultimately unsatisfying. (Magical realism. 12-16)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-When 14-year-old Samuel walks for 16 days to the small, destitute Brazilian town where his grandmother supposedly lives, he hopes only to find his father and fulfill his mother's last wishes. Rejected by his grandmother, he crawls into the head of an enormous statue to rest and heal. Inside the head, Samuel hears the villagers' prayers to St. Anthony and one beautiful voice singing twice each day. Hoping to silence the voices so that he can locate the singer, he helps one of the supplicants marry the man of her prayers. Soon, news of this "miracle" spreads, and Samuel is besieged by the lovelorn and the needy, flocking to the head for miracles. With his fame comes new life for the town, and Samuel and a few villagers soon profit greatly from his ability to "channel" the voice of St. Anthony. Not everyone is happy to see the town prosper, though; stories of how it fell into such desolate poverty and why the statue was never completed are unveiled, and Samuel finds himself in grave danger. The novel begins and ends on a bleak note, and although many story lines conveniently converge, Samuel's fate and that of the town is left in question. The text has a lilting rhythm, and vivid descriptions offer a glimpse of Brazilian culture. VERDICT A general purchase for teen collections.-MaryAnn Karre, West Middle School, Binghamton, NY

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Before Samuel's mother died, she asked him to travel to his grandmother's house in Candeia to find his father, whom he has never met, and to light candles at the foot of three saints on his journey. When he finally arrives, starving and exhausted, his grandmother won't take him in; rather, she directs him to a small cavern in the forest where he can find shelter. That cavern, it turns out, is the gigantic, hollow head of a statue of Saint Anthony, and once inside, Samuel can hear the entreaties of women praying to the saint for luck in love and marriage. It's with this secret information that he sets a series of marriages in motion, and suddenly Candeia becomes a pilgrimage site for women all over Brazil. But with all the newfound attention on the town, Samuel inadvertently stirs up old troubles. Acioli's swirling, deadpan narrative recalls classic Latin American magic realismthe unexplained miracles, intricately entwined stories, and long-buried family secrets would be at home in a Garcia Marquez novel. Samuel's struggle with his faith is a strong undercurrent to the story, though the complexities emerge askance, evident in his actions and the enigmatic plot turns rather than in any kind of verbal meditation. With an offbeat approach and beautiful, evocative language, this unusual, fablelike novel will appeal to literary-minded teens.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)