Now available in a Grove paperback edition, The Shrine at Altamira by John L'Heureux has the simple shape and powerful impact of Greek tragedy. When Maria Corazon Alvarez meets Russell Whitaker at a school dance, she sees his blue eyes and solid American name as a ticket out of the ghetto into a better life. They dance, they touch, they tumble into a love so strong and elemental it should last forever. But gradually the balance shifts; he loves her more, she loves him less. When their son is born, Maria gives him all her love and Russell is pushed aside. Wild, obsessed, Russell runs mad and his desperate love becomes a fire that consumes them all.
When Maria meets Russell at a school dance, she sees him as her ticket out of the ghetto, but gradually the balance of their love shifts. He loves her more, while she shoves him aside and devotes her attention to their son.
