Limón's previous works, including The Day of the Moon
and Song of the Hummingbird, have been called both "artful" and "soapy." Her latest work is characterized by some of the same strengths and shortcomings, but its engrossing plot slowly wins the reader's sympathy and any overwrought passages are forgotten. Set in the dense Mexican jungle and the barrios of Los Angeles, the novel tells of the obstacles people must face to overcome their history and heritage. Though it revolves around classic themes of forbidden love, loss, isolation and the search for the self, the setting imbues freshness. Limón uses the Mayan myth of reincarnation to lay the groundwork for her ultimate point—that we are given opportunities to reclaim our lives. If anyone needs to recoup a life, it is Adriana Mora. A Mexican-American photojournalist plagued by memories of her tragic childhood and by frightening dreams of loss, Adriana is drawn to Chiapas, Mexico, by an interest in Mayan civilization. From the pain of her past to her eventual involvement with a group of Zapatistas and her intimate relationship with one of its leaders, Adriana's bittersweet tale is told in passionate testimonial style. Despite its intensity, however, her sentiments seem calculated, and it is the personal histories of two other characters, Juana Galván and Orlando Flores, that redeem the tale. As heroes of the Chiapas insurgency, they embody the suffering of centuries of indigenous peoples, but they invite sympathy on a personal level, too. In her absorbing, politically engaged work, Limón restores dignity and identity to the inhabitants of a violent land, sketching tangled landscapes where faces are constantly erased and swept into anonymity. (Sept.)
