Faults

Feminist writer de la Pe a (Margins) attempts, with mixed results, to give voice to five different Latina women linked by blood or love, each struggling with her own emotional baggage. After 18 unhappy months living with an old college girlfriend in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, where she retreated after losing her job as a librarian, 40-year-old Toni Dorado is returning to Los Angeles. Her mother, Adela, and college-aged niece, Gabriela, are eager to welcome Toni home, but Toni's estranged sister, Sylvia, is less enthusiastic, as is activist Pat Ramos, Toni's abandoned ex. These women--who speak and think in varying degrees of convincing Spanglish--narrate by turns, but their credibility suffers when they rattle off sound bites about spousal abuse, underrepresentation of minorities in the media, or spout stock phrases from self-help books. As one-dimensional as the narrators can be, the supporting cast is even worse: Sylvia's wife-beating husband, Zalo, is one muy macho Chicano, smashing every object in sight while growling threats and insults. Gabriela is understandably eager to get her mom away from her evil stepdad, and Toni campaigns against Zalo, too; Adela, who accepts Toni's lesbianism in spite of being a devout Catholic, balks at breaking up Sylvia's marriage. Meanwhile, Toni is trying to get back together with Pat, who is justifiably ticked off at having been dumped the year before for Toni's Anglo old flame. After the Northridge earthquake, during which bad people are conveniently punished, most conflicts are neatly resolved. One wishes that de la Pe a had gone beyond stock situations and characters and really probed the heart of her community. (Sept.)