We bear in mind some books as a result of they remind us not to take life too severely, and others as a result of they overwhelm us with unforgettable portrayals of life’s darkest moments. An exquisite instance of the latter is When You Get to the Other Side, written by Mariana Osorio Gumá and translated to English by Cecilia Weddell. It’s a narrative of nice poignancy that was initially revealed in Mexico in 2019.
Siblings Emilia and Gregorio are raised by their grandmother, Mamá Lochi, a curandera (psychic healer) who teaches all of them about the religious world as they journey up and down the mountains of Amatlán, Mexico. When Mamá Lochi dies, her grandchildren are left with nothing however a metallic field full of money and call info for his or her father and uncles, who all dwell in the United States. Emilia and Gregorio use the cash to pay smugglers, often called coyotes, to take them to the U.S. They start to trek throughout the huge, cruel desert, encountering a human trafficking operation alongside the approach.
Gumá’s language is gorgeous, her writing model unceasingly daring, however her novel’s literary advantage is greatest embodied by its introspective imagery and symbolism. The chapters alternate between reminiscences of Mamá Lochi’s life and the current story of Gregorio and Emilia’s journey, constructing a stunning, lyrical congruence between the two narratives. Weddell’s translation is superb as properly, her consideration to element evident in each sentence.
Mamá Lochi’s teachings manifest in her grandchildren’s habits: Emilia foresees future occasions, and Gregorio turns into invisible to keep away from his pursuers. It generally is a problem to incorporate magic right into a story with out unbalancing it, however Gumá does so magnificently, mixing in the paranormal so seamlessly that the novel’s world feels neither wholly completely different from ours nor fairly the similar. The characters aren’t all the time so realistically wrought—typically performing inconsistently with their age or prior habits—however Gregorio’s and Emilia’s experiences are so horrific that even the most refined moments of magic are placing.
When You Get to the Other Side is a brief however dense learn, greatest fitted to readers with the endurance for a slow-moving plot. They’ll be rewarded with a breath of recent air and new views on immigration and the supernatural.
Discussion about this post