Perdido

Guadalupe Series #2

by Rick Collignon

The second novel by this hauntingly lyrical stylist returns to the rustic New Mexican village of Guadalupe, where a man learns that it's possible to be part of a town's tapestry without every being fully woven into its fabric...

Genres: Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Rick Collignon is the author of four novels: The Journal of Antonio Montoya, Perdido, A Santo in the Image of Cristobal Garcia, and Madewell Brown, all set in the town of Guadalupe, NM. Originally from the Chicago area, he has lived in northern New Mexico for over 30 years.

Reviews

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perdido: A Novel is the second book in the Guadalupe series by Rick Collignon set in the mountains of northern New Mexico. His first book was The Journal of Antonio Montoya, his debut book that received wide acclaim and international recognition. However, I found this book much darker in some respects but also with a certain richness and faith in the community. And the opening lines set the stage thus:

“The nigger came to Guadalupe in the summer of the year of 1946,” Telesfor Ruiz said. It was hot and dry, and the rains that came each summer to Guadalupe and moved back with speed over the valley had not yet arrived. The fields were wet only with water from the ditches, which ran full from the heavy snows the winter before.”

“A solitary black man, with one arm longer than the other, he had never found a place for himself. Never, that is, until he had painted his own history on the interior walls of his adobe house in Guadalupe.”

“Fifty years later, Will Sawyer’s truck runs out of gas, and as he walks that same long road back into town he knows it’s best to keep his eyes on the ground. But he doesn’t understand the town’s long history of displacement, or the difficulty of truly fitting in here, until he hears the story of the dead girl found hanging from Las Manos Bridge.”

The black man’s name was Madewell Brown, and he moved into the old adobe house that once belonged to Antonio Montoya, who had long ago left the village. No one in Guadalupe knew what made Brown come to choose this house, since he kept to himself, because most people were uneasy in his presence. In the years that Brown lived in Guadalupe, the only person who came to know him was Felix Garcia because he would come to the back door of the cafe and Felix would sell him beans, flour and meat. A few years later, Madewell Brown came to Felix’s Cafe carrying his canvas bag and dressed in the same clothes he had worn when he arrived years ago. There is much more to the story although it had taken Telesfor Ruiz a long time to tell this story to Will Sawyer.

This is a tale about Will Sawyer, a construction worker who had been in the area for quite a few years. Telesfor Ruiz, Will Sawyer’s only neighbor, lived in the old adobe house his father had built. When Will first met Telesfor, he had only been in Guadalupe for a few weeks. They would spend evenings under the cottonwood trees and drinking coffee where Telesfor Ruiz would regale Will with many stories about the people and happenings in Guadalupe.

“When Will walked back home that day, it was sunset, the sky streaked red. The color fell on the mountains and on the sagebrush. In Will’s mind was the picture of small boys trapped under mud and snow. He had never heard such a story, and he thought that beneath the village he could see with his was something else. He thought that maybe the next day, after he made sure the roof on his house was sound enough to hold the weight of snow, he would walk back to his neighbor’s house.”

As I said, Perdido was a much darker offering but still with the beautiful and lyrical writing and the mysteries of the santos. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Guadalupe series, A Santo in the Image of Cristobal Garcia.

[Jay Hatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read.

[Michael Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

An imaginative tale well told. One to savor and regretfully turn the last page. Kudos to a true artist.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artfully imperfect, this book well represents the New Mexico of my own childhood - unsurprising, as the author lived so long in the village down the valley from my own (and did so as an Anglo among Hispanos).

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much darker than Collignon's first book (The Journal of Antonio Montoya). This story revolves around a murder and ethnic conflict in the small village of Guadalupe. While the first book was touching and heart-warming and full of family love, this one showed the dark side of the community.