Bear in mind–this is a report, not a review, and there are spoilers…
Do you find that the last book you read impacts the way you judge the book you’re reading now? I wasn’t thrilled with The Door of No Return, and so was that much more impressed with Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s Gringolandia; her writing is wonderful, and this story is sophisticated, nuanced, and compelling. At times, I even forgot that I was reading a young adult novel, which might be the ultimate compliment (in my opinion, at least, because that means the writing doesn’t pander to a teen audience and so has wider, universal appeal). My research focuses on racial violence and representations of trauma, so I was particularly interested in the ways Miller-Lachmann presented Nino’s torture at the hands of Chile’s military dictatorship; she doesn’t shy away from the violence, yet still manages not to turn the reader into a voyeur; the torture isn’t titillating in any way, yet doesn’t repulse the reader to the point where you feel you need to put the book down. The family’s response to Nino’s torture is interesting and varied, though a large portion of the novel is devoted to Courtney, Daniel’s “gringa” girlfriend who’s determined to expose human rights violations in Chile. I actually found Daniel to be a more compelling character, and would like to have seen more of his evolution from a refugee seeking US citizenship into a more radical Chilean activist like his father. Daniel’s friends are “gringos” and so we rarely see him talking politics; he seems to resent his father’s devotion to their inhospitable homeland, yet immediately climbs on board when he learns his father is planning to smuggle himself back into Chile. I would like to have seen Daniel interacting with other Chilean teens, debating the viability of a future back in Chile and the merits (or hypocrisy) of US democracy. Miller-Lachmann avoids the typical happy ending by having Daniel’s parents’ marriage disintegrate after the torture; Nino has been changed, and only Daniel seems able to tolerate his father’s alcoholism, PTSD, and devotion to “the cause.” Courtney, who is almost obsessed with the Chilean freedom fight, is nonetheless unable to shed her own white privilege; as Daniel pointedly remarks after being injured on her behalf at a violent rally, Chile isn’t “Radical Disneyland.” The novel is set primarily in the 1980s, and at times I found myself doubting the protagonists’ age; Daniel and Courtney are so mature, they reminded me of college seniors rather than high school students. But I appreciated that Miller-Lachmann treated them as sensible, rational beings–a treatment I expected to find in The Door of No Return, but was sorely disappointed. Make sure you pick up Gringolandia–it’s a great read, and an important glimpse into the not-so-distant past.
“I even forgot that I was reading a young adult novel, which might be the ultimate compliment (in my opinion, at least, because that means the writing doesn’t pander to a teen audience and so has wider, universal appeal).”
Zetta, what do you mean by pander to a teen audience? Writers and adults are not doing themselves any favor by making comments that sound like insults to young adult readers.
I realize all teen literature is not quality writing but we could say the same for plenty of adult genre fiction.
There is a lot of intelligent, well-written YA literature like A Wish After Midnight and The Rock and The River. There is quality YA lit being written for the older YA readers and written as crossover literature for adults.
Susan! I think you know me well enough to know that I have much respect for teen *readers*–what I’m referring to is a strategy deployed by some *writers* who use “gimmicks” as a substitute for a strong narrative. I know there’s a LOT of quality writing out there for teens; I haven’t read all of it, but if I compare TDNR to Gringolandia, I see what appears to be a concerted effort on the part of one author to make the novel seem “hip,” “cool,” current with the trends in teen life (vocabulary, diction, use of technology). And those books deserve to exist, they appeal to some teens, and some adults, too. They’re just not my cup of tea, b/c I think good writing stands on its own without needing gimmicks–and it crosses the (imposed) genre boundaries used to separate YA from adult lit.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You make me want to put aside what I MUST read so that I can read these books!!
Thank you so much for the report/review, Zetta. I’m glad you enjoyed the novel. I just uploaded a teachers’ guide to my web site at web.mac.com/lynml; click on Teachers’ Guides.
My earlier drafts of Gringolandia (which had a different title then) had younger characters–age 16 rather than 18–and reflected a more traditional concept of the “young adult” novel. Most of the scenes took place in school and other teen venues such as parties and music clubs. I found that too restrictive and predictable. By following Daniel and Courtney’s story where it took me, I was much more able to open up the world to them and to readers.
I know, Edi–it’s demoralizing some days…I’m now working my way through the Crazy Color summer list, and will hit the library today…
Lyn–great idea. Shadra suggested I add my study guide to the back of my YA novel; makes sense, right? So readers could do the activities even if they’re not in school, and it saves photocopies if teachers want to assign questions for homework…I think you definitely made the right decision, upping their age. And I had to remember that Daniel was an immigrant–I often find that teens in other countries have more responsibilities and sometimes seem more mature.
About the study guide: The advantage of putting it on a web site rather than at the back of the book is that you can update it, add to it, correct errors, etc. And you can incorporate ideas that teachers and other have when they use the novel. And if you use an activity with kids and it seems to flop over and over, you can take it out because it’s not set in print.
You’re right about immigrant kids often seeming more mature because of the responsibilities they’ve had. I just got back from a two-day writing workshop with ELLs in a high school near Hartford, CT, and many of those 16 and 17 year old students have been living with slightly older siblings or living on their own. In many ways, they do resemble college students and may even act more mature than the typical college student that’s been sheltered all along.
True, although that’s the beauty of publishing-on-demand…what’s in print today can be gone tomorrow! I would like to add the study guide to my website, though I’m seriously considering scrapping the site in favor of the blog, which I can manage/alter myself.
Is it OK to leave the links for my review of Gringolandia and for the video I did with Lyn?
http://web.mac.com/edspicer/spicyreads/My_Blog_about_new_books/Entries/2009/6/17_Gringolandia.html
http://gallery.me.com/edspicer
This site has other movies as well, some that may also be of interest–Hope Anita Smith, Kekla Magoon, Sharon Flake, Terry Trueman, Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Halse Anderson, Cinda Williams Chima, various students. It also has movies that only annoy my two adult children!
Ed
Love your Blog
Of course! Great idea, Ed. I *love* your movies…I’ve been wanting to get into filmmaking, and bought this macbook for that very purpose, but haven’t made more than a short book trailer so far…
[…] January 5, 2010 by elliottzetta Ok, three hours later I have managed to upload Lyn’s interview, which we conducted today at the French Roast in the Village. The heat was NOT on, but you can’t see our blue fingernails…sorry for the poor lighting and background noise; bear with me! Lyn is the editor of Multicultural Review, and her latest book is Gringolandia (you can find my review here). […]