Zofia Barisas

In your hand are stories unlike any you have ever encountered before. They are powerful, poignant, often violent, at times funny, but always wise in their depth and search for reasons behind her characters’ behavior. The themes are universal – the insatiable yearning for love, finding comfort in sex, the suffering resulting from rules imposed by church and society, and family neglect and conflict that have consequences for generations to follow. Barisas is a masterful weaver of plots that shuttle us in and out of time, person and place. Her voice is unique, fresh, lyrical and compelling, a joy to read simply for the way she turns a phrase. There is little doubt that Zofia Barisas deserves a distinguished place among writers of our time.

Margaret Van Every, author of Saying Her Name and A Pillow Stuffed with Diamonds

Zofia Barisas has created a marvelous book -- a treat for all the senses – Argentine Merlot and rich Mexican chocolate to imbibe with a meal of fresh tamales filled with the treasures of life. Not since Anaïs Nin’s The Four-Chambered Heart has a woman writing in Mexico touched the human heart with Barisas’strength of language and emotional courage. Her words are persistent alchemy. The base metal of life is laid bare and gains new life as a golden treasure. Her stories are filled with the raw dimensions of a woman’s sensual encounter with the world. Like translucent blue tracks in the snow, Zofia Barisas’ stories mark a woman’s long journey of emotional and spiritual transitions leading to an understanding of what it means to be wholly woman.
Rob Mohr, art critic and author of Black Mountain College: The Arts, and Words From Orion, a book of poetry.

There is an entity in Zofia Barisas’ writing that manifests itself in a myriad of guises. Like a rolling coastal fog advancing onto the land, you sense an atmosphere being generated in her stories, transcending into a vortex that fuses an emotional implosion with malevolence and pathos. Balancing these two elements allows for a unique writing style that tempers a sense of loathing with empathy for some of the characters portrayed in the book. Read and bear witness for you will surely be drawn into this writer’s world.
Michael James Cook, author of The Diamond Formation