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The Reddening Path
The Reddening Path is the story of Pamela who, adopted as an infant by Hannah and Fern, a Toronto lesbian couple, travels to Guatemala to search for her birth mother. Her quest uncovers a tangle of political and romantic intrigue as Pamela discovers her Mayan heritage and learns about the complexities of life in Guatemala.
Resonating throughout is an account of Malintzen, the Mayan slave who became Cortes' mistress. These details of the Spanish conquest weave throughout the narrative, colouring the lives of everyone she encounters in her birthland.
Pamela's journey casts light on the struggle between conqueror and conquered within the Guatemalan people and the spiritual and emotional complexities facing those of mixed blood, a reality which challenges her expectations for an easy resolution to her question of identity.
Resonating throughout is an account of Malintzen, the Mayan slave who became Cortes' mistress. These details of the Spanish conquest weave throughout the narrative, colouring the lives of everyone she encounters in her birthland.
Pamela's journey casts light on the struggle between conqueror and conquered within the Guatemalan people and the spiritual and emotional complexities facing those of mixed blood, a reality which challenges her expectations for an easy resolution to her question of identity.
331 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
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March 30, 2012
Paméla has been having a terrifying, violent dream, a dream of a village being destroyed, the people massacred, while she - a little girl - is in hiding, thrust there by her mother. A university student who was adopted as a baby by her mothers, Fern and Hannah, from an orphanage in Guatemala, Paméla decides now is the time to find her birth mother. She travels to Guatemala, a country that's seen more than its fair share of bloodshed, to find the nuns who looked after her, hoping that they know who her mother is. But finding her mother stirs up more than she had ever thought it would, in her mad dash to the country of her birth.
The Reddening Path is Paméla's story but it is also the story of the women of the area down through the centuries to the Spanish invasion of Central America. Juxtaposed with Paméla's journey is the journey of Malintzín, the Mayan woman who became Hernando Cortés' lover and translator, enabling him to forge a bloody path across the land. She is a woman determined to make a place for herself and her son in a new world. Alongside these two women are the unsung stories of the many women, children and men who have been massacred, had their villages destroyed, or who fled and live with the guilt of abandoning their families to the military's rampage.
Travelling from Toronto, Canada to Guatemala, through Mexico and to Spain and back, The Reddening Path covers a vast area in space as well as time, and tackles some hefty issues and themes without moralising, passing judgement or presenting a black-and-white image. And for that I have to respect Hale, as well as taking me to a place I've never known in person and knew almost nothing about before reading this. The modern-day story of Paméla's search for her birth mother brings her into close contact with the side of Guatemala that most tourists would steer clear of, deliberately or not, and rather than leave it as is, Hale gives us some context in sharing the history of the land, it's bloody history, through telling the story of Malinche - though using the conquering and invading of her body as a metaphor for the invasion of Mexico/Guatemala was a bit too big of a cliché for me, even if it is true to life:
and here, where we have the classic line of women being the downfall, the temptress, of man:
While I found Malinche's story interesting (here Hale says that the name "Malinche" referred to Cortés; I suppose it changed over time so it now refers to Malintzín?), and this is the first time I've read about it (I have Malinche by Laura Esquivel but I haven't read it yet), I also felt disconnected from it and at times quite confused. Malintzín's story is presented in chronological segments, telling the course of her life, Cortés' life and that of their sons, and it had a cursory feel - what happens when an author is close and knowledgable about a subject, and has to condense it to fit it in. For the first half, I kept wondering where it was going and why it was there. The second half, I was enjoying the historical story more for its own sake, but was still unsure of where it was going or why it was there. There isn't an obvious connection, and I guess I was waiting for a more profound moment or line that would make it click for me.
The connection is nothing complicated, but to share the history of the Mayan peoples, and the deep connection between them and the earth - or the women, anyway, as this is a distinctly female story. But it is also one for the men, and here the son of Cortés and Malintzín, Martín, has a homecoming that may parallel Paméla's:
With the historical context in mind (and again, it was very condensed so rather brief, if strung-out), the present-day female characters in Guatemala, in particular the young nun, Guadalupe, and her friend Chavela, stand out strongly and more sympathetically in their respective situations. From Fabiana, Paméla mother, to the nuns and Chavela, we see how deeply scarred the people, the Mayans specifically, still are; how the land and its people are still suffering under Spanish and Catholic conquest. By presenting the tales side-by-side, the pain and loss is rendered sharp and intimate.
But there was a big gap, and no context for the current-day massacres. Modern-day Guatemala is revealed through the determined but narrowly-focused eyes of Paméla, and with so much time devoted to telling the story of the fall of the Maya peoples, there seemed to be little room left for the voices of the contemporary characters to be heard as strongly. While we get to see some small details of their lives, much was left unclear and I confess I love the details and like to understand better. The tragedy of these women's pasts was tangible, but the why of it was left murky.
As I mentioned before, this is a strong women's story, featuring a mostly female cast of characters, from Paméla's lesbian mothers, Fern and Hannah, to the women Paméla meets in Guatemala. The only distinct, strong male character is Cortés, though the General has his own role to play in the story. None of the characters were presented as either good or bad, they were all the shades of grey that is true of human nature. Probably the thing I enjoyed the most was that other, indistinct character, the land itself, which the native people were so closely connected to despite Catholicism and colonialism. The forced conversion of the people en masse to the Catholic Church was there but not confronted - it simply is. Guadalupe was a woman similar to Paméla's birth mother, but took the safety and refuge offered by the church and became a nun, whereas Fabiana took that offered by a man.
A novel of many layers, The Reddening Path was an interesting, educational read and a strong story of the struggles, determination and survival of women across time and space. While I struggled at times to connect with it emotionally (always important to me), I still appreciated the voice given to this story, which has the feel of a story that could be told of many women in many places, but which is more often than not left unheard.
The Reddening Path is Paméla's story but it is also the story of the women of the area down through the centuries to the Spanish invasion of Central America. Juxtaposed with Paméla's journey is the journey of Malintzín, the Mayan woman who became Hernando Cortés' lover and translator, enabling him to forge a bloody path across the land. She is a woman determined to make a place for herself and her son in a new world. Alongside these two women are the unsung stories of the many women, children and men who have been massacred, had their villages destroyed, or who fled and live with the guilt of abandoning their families to the military's rampage.
Travelling from Toronto, Canada to Guatemala, through Mexico and to Spain and back, The Reddening Path covers a vast area in space as well as time, and tackles some hefty issues and themes without moralising, passing judgement or presenting a black-and-white image. And for that I have to respect Hale, as well as taking me to a place I've never known in person and knew almost nothing about before reading this. The modern-day story of Paméla's search for her birth mother brings her into close contact with the side of Guatemala that most tourists would steer clear of, deliberately or not, and rather than leave it as is, Hale gives us some context in sharing the history of the land, it's bloody history, through telling the story of Malinche - though using the conquering and invading of her body as a metaphor for the invasion of Mexico/Guatemala was a bit too big of a cliché for me, even if it is true to life:
[Cortés said,] "I do not want to destroy these people, but I will conquer them." When he took Malintzín in his arms and entered her body he was Lord of the New World, filled with triumph and peace. But she was one of them, a savage to be conquered. Her mystery inflamed him and he had grown rough with her. [p.70]
and here, where we have the classic line of women being the downfall, the temptress, of man:
The nation [Cortés] had conquered, many times the size of Spain, the woman he had loved, whose body had disappeared without trace, taking with it his power over the land and all his good fortune ... I've grown old like my father who died in my absence. I wanted him to be proud of me. I dreamed of conquering the world like Alexander the Great. In Marina's arms I thought myself immortal; she enchanted me with her forked tongue. [p.290]
While I found Malinche's story interesting (here Hale says that the name "Malinche" referred to Cortés; I suppose it changed over time so it now refers to Malintzín?), and this is the first time I've read about it (I have Malinche by Laura Esquivel but I haven't read it yet), I also felt disconnected from it and at times quite confused. Malintzín's story is presented in chronological segments, telling the course of her life, Cortés' life and that of their sons, and it had a cursory feel - what happens when an author is close and knowledgable about a subject, and has to condense it to fit it in. For the first half, I kept wondering where it was going and why it was there. The second half, I was enjoying the historical story more for its own sake, but was still unsure of where it was going or why it was there. There isn't an obvious connection, and I guess I was waiting for a more profound moment or line that would make it click for me.
The connection is nothing complicated, but to share the history of the Mayan peoples, and the deep connection between them and the earth - or the women, anyway, as this is a distinctly female story. But it is also one for the men, and here the son of Cortés and Malintzín, Martín, has a homecoming that may parallel Paméla's:
As Martín stepped onto dry land, pale and weary from the long voyage, he heard a strangely familiar language. At first he did not recognize the Nahuatl words, then his face flushed with a sudden warmth as the soft guttural sounds stirred within him. Everywhere he looked there were people like himself, mestizos with golden skin and almond-shaped eyes, not quite Spanish, not quite Indian. Martín Cortés was not a man given to exuberance, but a new sense of belonging grew in him and in February of 1563, when he reached the city of his birth, all his senses came alive to the familiarity of the place and to his forgotten self, the small child abandoned before he'd had a chance to know who he was, or to understand the world he had entered. [p.305]
With the historical context in mind (and again, it was very condensed so rather brief, if strung-out), the present-day female characters in Guatemala, in particular the young nun, Guadalupe, and her friend Chavela, stand out strongly and more sympathetically in their respective situations. From Fabiana, Paméla mother, to the nuns and Chavela, we see how deeply scarred the people, the Mayans specifically, still are; how the land and its people are still suffering under Spanish and Catholic conquest. By presenting the tales side-by-side, the pain and loss is rendered sharp and intimate.
But there was a big gap, and no context for the current-day massacres. Modern-day Guatemala is revealed through the determined but narrowly-focused eyes of Paméla, and with so much time devoted to telling the story of the fall of the Maya peoples, there seemed to be little room left for the voices of the contemporary characters to be heard as strongly. While we get to see some small details of their lives, much was left unclear and I confess I love the details and like to understand better. The tragedy of these women's pasts was tangible, but the why of it was left murky.
As I mentioned before, this is a strong women's story, featuring a mostly female cast of characters, from Paméla's lesbian mothers, Fern and Hannah, to the women Paméla meets in Guatemala. The only distinct, strong male character is Cortés, though the General has his own role to play in the story. None of the characters were presented as either good or bad, they were all the shades of grey that is true of human nature. Probably the thing I enjoyed the most was that other, indistinct character, the land itself, which the native people were so closely connected to despite Catholicism and colonialism. The forced conversion of the people en masse to the Catholic Church was there but not confronted - it simply is. Guadalupe was a woman similar to Paméla's birth mother, but took the safety and refuge offered by the church and became a nun, whereas Fabiana took that offered by a man.
A novel of many layers, The Reddening Path was an interesting, educational read and a strong story of the struggles, determination and survival of women across time and space. While I struggled at times to connect with it emotionally (always important to me), I still appreciated the voice given to this story, which has the feel of a story that could be told of many women in many places, but which is more often than not left unheard.
February 20, 2012
I was walking from the University bathroom back to my study carol when this book and another by the same author, Amanda Hale, caught my eye. After reading the back and flipping through the book, I decided this would be a nice diversion from the non-fiction, travel, walking books that I have been reading for several years now.
Hale intricately creates a narrative that includes 2 separate stories, then 3, then 4, and as a grande finale, links all the stories and characters together. The breadth of the stories, which range from the 1500's to the 1960's and the 2000's, leaves the reader sleepless, turning pages, wondering what will happen to this list of unique characters. The stories are set in Guatemala, Toronto, and the Kingdom of Spain shortly after its creation in the late 1400's and into the early 1500's. Characters from South America's colonial past inspire a young Guatemalan-Canadian, Pamela, to trace her roots and briefly leave her two loving mothers, Hannah and Fern, in Toronto, in order to find her biological mother back in a country which she left after her international adoption. She travels in body and finds friends, old acquaintances and adventure, but also travels back in time in her mind as she prepares a paper and completes research in order to understand her country of birth. Her travels take her to meet some interesting people, but her plans take a divergent turn when she attempts to impose her Canadian upbringing on a set of people and in a country that has survived generations of war, torture, and trauma. Pamela has a wishful, hopeful spirit and teaches the reader that taking chances may provide you with different answers than the ones you had been looking for. Great read!
Hale intricately creates a narrative that includes 2 separate stories, then 3, then 4, and as a grande finale, links all the stories and characters together. The breadth of the stories, which range from the 1500's to the 1960's and the 2000's, leaves the reader sleepless, turning pages, wondering what will happen to this list of unique characters. The stories are set in Guatemala, Toronto, and the Kingdom of Spain shortly after its creation in the late 1400's and into the early 1500's. Characters from South America's colonial past inspire a young Guatemalan-Canadian, Pamela, to trace her roots and briefly leave her two loving mothers, Hannah and Fern, in Toronto, in order to find her biological mother back in a country which she left after her international adoption. She travels in body and finds friends, old acquaintances and adventure, but also travels back in time in her mind as she prepares a paper and completes research in order to understand her country of birth. Her travels take her to meet some interesting people, but her plans take a divergent turn when she attempts to impose her Canadian upbringing on a set of people and in a country that has survived generations of war, torture, and trauma. Pamela has a wishful, hopeful spirit and teaches the reader that taking chances may provide you with different answers than the ones you had been looking for. Great read!
September 9, 2010
Great book about Guatemala. Lots of history about the Spanish conquerors and the Mayan culture. An adopted girl goes back to Guatemala to try and find her biological mother.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews