The first time I read Rain of Gold, I thought to myself, “My God, this is my family!” Victor Villasenor has the ability to draw in the reader and make him or her feel that they are living the story. This is particularly true in Rain of Gold.
The book follows two people and their families in very different journeys through the hard times of the Mexican Revolution and into the U.S. and the very different life waiting for them there. They meet new challenges in and find each other as they adjust and learn to make a life in this new country.
The book abounds with the mystical love of spirits, nature and God that is so commonplace for us Mexicanos. I believe it is hard for people not of our culture to understand just how real the spirits are to us. This is not magical realism but daily life us. Mr. Villasenor shows that aspect of our culture and our grandmothers so well that it brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my own mystical, wise and wonderful grandmother.
The fact that Victor Villasenor is extremely dyslexic and encountered myriad problems in school at a very young age makes this book all the more astounding. He writes with pathos and humor, and his love for his beautiful family shines through it all. His simple style of storytelling makes you feel you’re sitting on the floor listening to an uncle or other family member and you are completely enraptured and caught up in his spell.
Rain of Gold is the alternating story of Villasenor's grandparents, Salvador and Lupe. Each chapter tells a little more of their incredible lives. Lupe grew up in Lluvia de Oro or "Rain of Gold," a mining town in the mountains of Mexico, a place where orchids grew and butterflies were everywhere. The Mexican Revolution changed her young life and sent her family and many others on the long journey into the U.S.
Salvador's story is quite different. His family was rich until the war and left his father a broken man. His mother was indomitable, setting an example Salvador looks up to all his life.
Eventually, the two stories meet up as the couple meets and fall in love. It's an incredible story of love, hope, war, and the capability of the human spirit.
Article comments