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Mirrors Beneath the Earth (Magill Book Reviews)

At a glance:

As editor Ray Gonzalez states in his introduction to this volume, the title evokes how Chicano short fiction rises out of the earth as a cultural writing that encompasses the power of landscape, autobiographical experience, and political realities of the environments of the writers. The stories alternate between sometimes harsh realities and imaginary adventures grounded in myth and superstition.

Some of the stories, such as “Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush” by Luis Alberto Urrea, rely on humor to make their point. Mr. Mendoza is a graffiti artist in a small town, pointing out the faults of the town for people who do not, until the story’s conclusion, realize just how inspired he is. Leroy V. Quintana’s “The Rosary” mixes the spiritual with the comic, combining a man’s vision of the miracle of a burning rosary with his attempts to pass his driving test. Both plot elements illustrate the daily realities of the protagonist’s village.

Along with the fond reminiscences of some stories are the unpleasant realities in others, as in Alma Luz Villanueva’s story of a boy who dies while sniffing glue, Lucha Corpi’s tale of a young boy who dies in the riots during which journalist Ruben Salazar was killed, and Benjamin Alire Saenz’s narration of the struggle of a boy to obtain sanctuary in the United States after escaping from Salvadoran guerrillas.

Throughout this collection run themes of hope and of coping. Several of the characters try to improve themselves by migrating to the United States; others have migrated and are trying to adjust to the new life. Jose Antonio Burciaga tells humorously of an ultimate wish fulfillment, as a poor family finds that it has a winning lottery ticket. The ticket, unfortunately, has been glued to the front door of the family home to repair a hole. Rather than rely on luck, several protagonists turn to religion, hoping that spirituality will reward them.

Few of the stories are plotted strongly. Their strength lies instead in the evocations of Chicano life, whether it is daily experience, reminiscences of the past in Mexico, hopes for the future, desires for spiritual salvation, or simply making the most of sometimes limited opportunities. Ana Castillo’s “Subtitles” probably best sums up the scope of this collection. In that story, a woman describes her life, seeing herself as a character in a foreign film, having to act the part of a foreigner and either fight or satisfy stereotypes. The story concludes that the character “must continue inventing and reinventing my roles until death, for the sake of your entertainment.” Characters in all the stories collected here find that they have roles to play, roles in which they must define themselves as Chicanos.