Shadows of a Saint: A Review of Fabre’s Recital of the Dark Verses

In Recital of the Dark Verses, Luis Felipe Fabre offers a historical fiction encapsulated in a satirically gothic literary read. Fabre creates an inviting world, allowing the reader to join in as a trio of characters navigate a journey through death and darkness. With an introduction written by Fabre’s translator Heather Cleary, readers are given a taste of the magical narrative they are about to enter. Cleary provides an effortless translation – letting Fabre’s sarcastic give-and-take between characters become as alive as the characters themselves. As if you are the fourth transporter of Fray Juan, you too give in to the banter, the witty commentary, and the mystical elements which surround them.

Recital of the Dark Verses begins eagerly, introducing readers to a bailiff along with two recruited civil servants, Ferran and Diego, who are tasked with the impossible: secretly transporting the sacred body of Saint John of the Cross, Fray Juan, to his final resting place. Traveling only in the disguise of night, the three find themselves in peculiar and often frightening scenarios night after night. The reliable theme of darkness is given only brief moments of rest by the characters’ repartee, allowing the reader to take breaths in between devils, distance, and the incessant (yet innocent) nagging of Diego.

“Even dead did he cause trouble.”

Upon pickup of the body, the trio discover its blood still flows, as if the body itself were still very much alive. The aroma – apparently captivating to all who smell it – has little to no effect on Ferran (who instead found the Saint to smell quite foul). Unimpressed by the verses and even more so with the saint himself, Ferran finds the spectacle of this transportation to be more of a sideshow than the miracle it is supposed to be. The night casting tricks and a haunting saint, the three men must be wary of the scent-drunk townspeople, who are aberrantly drawn to the aroma of Fray Juan and in turn will stop at nothing to get a piece of him.

“…trust that while finding your way in the night 

you will stumble upon the truth of these verses.”

While Cleary does the translating, it is Fabre who transports the reader back in time. Fabre uses Saint John of the Cross’ own poetical work to reinforce chapters, giving readers a peek into the work of the dead Saint. The Saint’s poems intertwine with the modern words, propelling the story forward while allowing readers a glimpse of the deceased Saint’s own perspective. With peeks into the history of Fray Juan intertwined with the journey that could have been, Fabre teeters a tightrope between the borders of historical fiction and magical realism with expert precision.

“Can’t you see that you can’t see?”

Recital’s chapters are satisfyingly short, yet often leave the reader wanting just a bit more of an explanation. As a reader, it often feels as though you are grappling with what has just occurred similarly to Ferran and Diego, attempting to construe what was real and what was not. But perhaps this was Fabre’s ultimate intention, to leave us with just a bit of light in order to interpret the shadows.