Mexico: Sunlight and Shadows; Short Stories and Essays by Mexico Writers

This anthology reveals many different dimensions of Mexico in 22 fiction and nonfiction selections, most of them by U.S.-born authors. Drawn from varied sources that include travel guides, blogs, and short story collections, the pieces form an eclectic, if inconsistent, mosaic. “The Blossoming of Baja’s Pacific Coast” by Ann Hazard vividly praises the area’s inexplicable draw for artists and musicians as well as the seductive allure of its fresh margaritas. The prose slips at times into a commercial monotone: “Truly... Baja’s South Pacific Coast is somewhere that belongs on your Bucket List!” Other entries lack sophistication and contain awkward constructions: “Why do individuals and masses march along like good little soldiers to ideologies that perhaps make little sense nor support their happiness and life fulfillment?” writes Katie O’Grady in “We Became an Expat Family.” Nevertheless, some of the selections positively hum, including David Lida’s “Acapulco Gold,” which sees the golden arches of McDonald’s and its dining tourists as a beacon for a homeless child, and Bruce Berger’s evocative and gorgeously crafted “Under the Cypress.” The anthology’s montage of images and voices creates an almost puzzling effect of simultaneously unveiling and obscuring its subject; thoughtful travelers might feel similarly upon leaving a destination and wondering whether it was ever really there for them to know at all.[em] (BookLife) [/em]