Weeping Woman: La Llorona and Other Stories

Luz Villanueva ( The Ultraviolet Sky ) concentrates on suffering in this often painful collection. Two young girls discuss whether they have begun menstruating and what such a development means in light of their exposure to sex by mothers who abuse drugs and prostitute themselves. A woman attempts to pack up her murdered daughter's belongings and recalls their final discussion--it was about whether or not the 13-year-old was ready to wear lipstick. Two women meet in a bar, and one reveals that she is a prostitute and was abused by her grandfather and therefore provides her services for free to a certain client to keep him from molesting his daughter. Sometimes the repetition of certain symbols--there are seashells in some form in almost every story--drains them of their power, but on the whole these characters manage to go beyond their dire circumstances, as does the Native American woman who is hijacked in her car by a man who sexually abuses her, giving her a shell for each act she performs correctly. She finally escapes with a surprising gift for her sacred White Shell Woman. (Feb.)