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Robert Gattlingrsquo;s gone southmdash;literally#58; touring Mexico in a Mercedes bus turned RVmdash;and figuratively, or so his friends think. Well-liked, well-made, well-off, why this baffling impulse to throw it all over and wander awaymdash;looking for what? He knows itrsquo;s redemption hersquo;s seeking, but canrsquo;t pin down the transgression thatrsquo;s prompted the guilt. Not far south of the border he comes upon Berto and Conchita, teenage runaways, cavorting in the Riacute;o Penitente. Despite warnings to leave them be, he takes them up, hoping to redeem himself by reforming them. Along the way he falls in love with Selina and, though afraid itrsquo;s a fools errand, decides to woo her and straighten out the kids simultaneously. Can he? Hersquo;s all-in, betting on an inside straight. Will the ldquo;riverrdquo; be the card thatrsquo;s eluded him all his life?
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First published April 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 30, 2011
Río Penitente, Angus Brownfield's newly-published tour de force set in Mexico and California, proves that masterfully executed literature has claimed a natural homeland in the cyberworld of the eBook.
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Río Penitente chronicles the physical and metaphysical journey of three unlikely companions: Robert Gattling, Berto and Conchita. They move through an assortment of the sages, goddesses. fools and ferrymen that seem to inhabit such journeys.
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The financially comfortable Robert Gattling, a Hemingway-esque Californian steeped in Catholic concepts of sin, regret and expiation, strikes a bargain with his own soul. He will serve as mentor, savior and border-crossing coyote for two unschooled peso-less Mexican vagabonds, Berto and Conchita, a young couple whose worldview is shaped by an admixture of campesino traditions, envy, violence and pop culture. If Gattling's quest succeeds, if Berto and Conchita can be led to their mythical Promised Land, then Gattling's life sins will be forgiven (at least that's his delusion). But what happens if there are problems: sexual, cultural, legal? Well... that's why we have a story, isn't it?
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Notwithstanding Gattling's Christian/guilt background, Río Penitente is an existential book; thus forgiveness is an expensive commodity indeed. It's neither simple nor cheap. It cannot be purchased for a Communion wafer and a sip of wine.
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I was first drawn to Brownfield's Mexico mythos in his earlier novel, El Maestro (available as an eBook via several vendors), which I read in another format a decade ago. Brownfield expands and hones the vision created in the earlier book. He is a mature craftsman at the height of his artistic power.
##
Río Penitente chronicles the physical and metaphysical journey of three unlikely companions: Robert Gattling, Berto and Conchita. They move through an assortment of the sages, goddesses. fools and ferrymen that seem to inhabit such journeys.
##
The financially comfortable Robert Gattling, a Hemingway-esque Californian steeped in Catholic concepts of sin, regret and expiation, strikes a bargain with his own soul. He will serve as mentor, savior and border-crossing coyote for two unschooled peso-less Mexican vagabonds, Berto and Conchita, a young couple whose worldview is shaped by an admixture of campesino traditions, envy, violence and pop culture. If Gattling's quest succeeds, if Berto and Conchita can be led to their mythical Promised Land, then Gattling's life sins will be forgiven (at least that's his delusion). But what happens if there are problems: sexual, cultural, legal? Well... that's why we have a story, isn't it?
##
Notwithstanding Gattling's Christian/guilt background, Río Penitente is an existential book; thus forgiveness is an expensive commodity indeed. It's neither simple nor cheap. It cannot be purchased for a Communion wafer and a sip of wine.
##
I was first drawn to Brownfield's Mexico mythos in his earlier novel, El Maestro (available as an eBook via several vendors), which I read in another format a decade ago. Brownfield expands and hones the vision created in the earlier book. He is a mature craftsman at the height of his artistic power.
Displaying 1 of 1 review