This lush and touching novel by Benjamin Alire Saenz, a series of interconnected stories of a most amazing cast of characters, is simply astounding. There is the thoughtful and deaf Diego, living in El Paso, working on his suicide note and making friends with a cholo named Mundo, whom he finds stabbed in a dumpster; Mary or the Virgin Mary; and the wise, irreverent Luz. There is Jake and Joaquin, a gay couple struggling with the fact that Joaquin’s dying of AIDS; Helen and Eddy the rich couple in Northern California awaiting their first child; and Lizzie, the nurse who one day while tending an AIDS patient, finds he is her twin brother, that he has given her his gift of being psychic and that she is really a Mexican named Maria de Lourdes. Each character is a puzzle waiting to be solved and amazing in their reality.
Each story dovetails neatly into another, producing a rich and delicious stew of a novel dealing with love, secrets and the ghosts of the past. We find that Helen is really Maria Elena or Nena and she is Diego’s sister. Eddy, her husband has his own past as a molested child to come to terms with and a brother to find. Jake is dealing with his anger and grief at losing Joaquin. And then there is my favorite character in the book, Lizzie. Lizzie can leave her body, she is coming to terms with her newfound psychic ability and finds something in herself to give. She holds Jake and Joaquin together and becomes their anchor as they battle with illness and death.
The river too, is a large character in this book. It is the river in El Paso that separates Mexico from Texas. Diego and Luz spend Sunday mornings on the river watching the swimmers from the other side trying to cross over into a better life. The book deals with prejudice and hate, struggling to make a life in this land, gives an amazing view of what people give up to come here and what they find when they do.
Article comments
1 - wawan-eko-yulianto
well, it sounds like a great novel from the way it features people of still-dilemmatic-in-certain-places identity like gay and psychic. for the character's "psychicness", in particular, i do believe that the use of poetry is very significant. remember ben okri's "the famished road" which tells about "life" of an abiku (a spirit) in the world of human? yeah, "the famished road" was successful in deciphering the world/life which, for most of us, is unrealistic. what does
"the famished road" thank to? it thanks to the poetic language which helps build the magical atmosphere and make us readers "enjoy" its unique world. i hope saenz's use of his poetic skill does help in the same way as it does with ben okri. congratulations!