Center of Hell

Author: (Spanish) Montero/Tu Mengchao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Here, the word "hell" originates from ancient Greek mythology. According to The Iliad, Tartarus, the underworld, lies beneath the realm of the dead, with a distance from the underworld of Tantalus equivalent to the distance between heaven and earth. Its iron gates are shut tight, perpetually dark and terrifying, completely isolated from the outside world. In the novel, Montero blends ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and contemporary Spain to better show the world that while humanity advances at a breathtaking pace, leaving one stunned and feeling as if it were another world, it also remains unchanged. As if the tragedies of antiquity, along with their tragic heavens, are hidden beneath the splendor of modern civilization—a hellish center. Terrorism, domestic violence, the underworld—evil and ugly forces are rampant. And Montero refuses to compromise. For twenty years, she has consistently written about the weak, speaking for the voiceless, much like the chivalrous Don Quixote who intervenes for justice. Isn’t it true? As long as there is injustice, prejudice, and oppression in the world, harmony is a dream, an idealistic dream in the style of Don Quixote.