<DIV><P>"A tantalizingly ambiguous web of deceit, intrigue, and obsession, its layers of meaning gradually revealed. . . . The reader is left in delicious puzzlement."&mdash;<I>Publishers Weekly</I></P><P><I>Mascara</I>, Ariel Dorfman&rsquo;s haunting English-language debut novel, delves into the dark terrain of identity and disguise when the lives of three people collide. A nameless man with a face no one remembers has the devastating ability to see and capture on film the brutal truths lurking inside each person he encounters. Oriana, a beautiful woman with the memory of an innocent child, is relentlessly pursued by mysterious figures from her past. Doctor Mavirelli is a brilliant and power-hungry plastic surgeon who controls society&rsquo;s most prominent figures by controlling their most important asset: their faces. As their three fates cross, present and past deceptions unravel upon each other until the characters find themselves irrevocably unmasked.</P><P>Ariel Dorfman is a Chilean expatriate whose works include the acclaimed memoir <I>Heading South, Looking North</I>; the novels <I>The Last Song of Manuel Sendero, Konfidenz </I>and <I>Widows</I>; and the play <I>Death and the Maiden</I>, which was made into a film by Roman Polanski. Dorfman&rsquo;s plays have been performed in more than 100 countries, and he is the recipient of numerous international awards in drama and literature. Dorfman contributes to major newspapers worldwide and is a distinguished professor at Duke University. He lives with his wife in Durham, North Carolina.</P></DIV>