Jemez Spring

Sonny Baca #4

by Rudolfo Anaya

When the governor of New Mexico is found drowned in the Bath House at Jemez Springs, Albuquerque private eye Sonny Baca is called in to investigate. As he soon learns, murder is only the beginning of the evil that Sonny must sort out. Someone has planted a bomb in the Valles Caldera, not far from the Los Alamos National Laboratories, and it is set to detonate in just a few hours. Is this the work of terrorists or is Sonny's old nemesis, Raven, mixed up in the plot? In a race against the clock Sonny encounters ghosts and sorcerers, beautiful women and environmental activists, and developers and politicians who are quarreling over the state's most precious resource, its water.
"An extraordinary storyteller."-- Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Anaya takes the reader beyond detective fiction. . . . His mysteries fall into the criminal and the spiritual, which makes them both inspiring and electrifying."-- St. Petersburg Times
"Sonny Baca is a fascinating hero with rough edges that serve to add to his charismatic personality."-- Edmonton Journal
"Anaya, godfather and guru of Chicano literature, proves he's just as good in the murder mystery field."--Tony Hillerman, author of The Sinister Pig

Genres: Mystery, Magical Realism, Fiction, Native American

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 2005

About the author

Rudolfo Anaya lives and breathes the landscape of the Southwest. It is a powerful force, full of magic and myth, integral to his writings. Anaya, however, is a native Hispanic fascinated by cultural crossings unique to the Southwest, a combination of oldSpain and New Spain, of Mexico with Mesoamerica and the anglicizing forces of the twentieth century. Rudolfo Anaya is widely acclaimed as the founder of modern Chicano literature. According to the New York Times, he is the most widely read author in Hispanic communities, and sales of his classic Bless Me, Ultima (1972) have surpassed 360,000, despite the fact that none of his books have been published originally by New York publishing houses. His works are standard texts in Chicano studies and literature courses around the world, and he has done more than perhaps any other single person to promote publication of books by Hispanic authors in this country. With the publication of his novel, Albuquerque (1992),Newsweek has proclaimed him a front-runner in "what is better called not the new multicultural writing, but the new American writing." His most recent volume, published in 1995, is Zia Summer.

"I've always used the technique of the cuento. I am an oral storyteller, but now I do it on the printed page. I think if we were very wise we would use that same tradition in video cassettes, in movies, and on radio."

from
http://www.unm.edu/~wrtgsw/anaya.html
and
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_reso...

Reviews

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jemez Spring is the fourth book, a riveting and beautiful quartet following Sonny Baca throughout the seasons of a year and ending with this beautiful book in the Spring when all of the world is looking with anticipation to a spiritual renewal and a new year. And as Rudolfo Anaya begins this final book with this poignant dedication:

"Jemez Spring completes Sonny's
adventures through the four seasons.
For all the faithful who waited
for the quartet to be done,
this is for you.
An abrazo of love."

I often have a longing to be in New Mexico and when I need a little dose of magical realism and beautiful poetry and prose about my childhood home and favorite place to be, I have a host of authors that I go to. And Rudolfo Anaya has always been one of my favorite authors. I have had the pleasure of meeting him several times and was just entranced by his ability to convey a world that is so steeped in history but yet still here for us to explore and embrace. I think that what I love about his fiction is his exploration of the superstitions and myths of the Mexican-American culture in opposition with the traditions of the Roman Catholic faith. And I must say that my favorite is the myth of La Larona.

"But the ancient Greek stories were far removed from the memory of the landlocked Chicanos of the valley where the phrase we sail with the tide had never been heard. So he told them the cuentos his grandfather had taught him, incorporating them into New Mexico history. The history of la gente was embedded in the oral tradition, but it had to be mined if one was to know the ways of the ancestors."

"History belonged to those who wrote its poetry."

[Sue Sproul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I confess that after making it though half of the book, I simply gave up and returned it to the library. Perhaps my problem had something to do with the fact that I hadn't read earlier Sonny Baca mysteries in the series. But honestly, Anaya's stream-of-consciousness rambling writing finally got on my nerves. I was looking for action and plot progression. Instead I got frustration. This just wasn't what I had come to expect from the earlier works I had read.

[Amber Foxx · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could say that Jemez Spring was as good as the rest of the series, but it's not. I had to finish it because it wraps up the Sonny Baca series, but it doesn't do the story cycle justice. Even Sonny himself is not as strong a character. He becomes something between a caricature and an archetype. I almost stopped reading early on, when Sonny—a private investigator—and a police detective are in the presence of the murder victim who died in a hot spring bath at Jemez Springs, and they derisively discuss the size of the dead man’s penis. At that point, I no longer liked Sonny. I thought, why is this episode here?
His girlfriend, Rita, was always simply an archetypal female ideal with no depth. None of the women in this book have any dimensionality except Naomi, the Jemez Pueblo potter. She has a personality. She's original. I love it when she gets in Sonny's truck and says, “You got spirits in this truck?” (One of the strongest characters is the ghost of Sonny’s late neighbor don Eliseo, riding in Sonny's truck and giving him advice.) But like other women in the book, Naomi is an object of desire. The power players are all men, unless I slept through a scene that breaks that pattern
Between each important event, there are often three pages of digression on New Mexico politics, history, culture, and food, beautiful descriptions of the land, excessive backstory, discussions of whether or not dogs dream, and reflections on mythology. Keeping track of the plot took patience.
The final confrontation between Sonny and Raven is in an intriguing setting and has some mystical moments, but it's also full of philosophical discussion at a point when it deflates the tension instead of escalating it.
The outcome of the ongoing threat with the bomb made me feel as if the author had written himself into a corner and couldn't get out of it, so he wrote it away into a trick. That's almost as bad as “it was all a dream.” I found flashes of delight in certain settings, good lines, and the few good characters, like the Green Indians, but I’m still disappointed in this work by an author whose books I normally love.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read all of Anaya's books and enjoyed (especially in Bless Me Ultima) his cultural and spiritual references. The Sonny Baca series is a departure from the others in that it is a mystery thriller with metaphysical over tones. While the idea is intriguing and I sorta got into the characters, it struck me as kind of flat. It becomes repetitive and didactic. I wondered at times if he wrote it "tongue-in-cheek" as a spoof, but it was neither funny enough, nor serious enough to keep my interest. It reads as absurdly as a batman comic book. I enjoy magical realism, but this just wasn't interesting enough. While he makes quotable statements about the state of modern society, cultural/political issues and the loss of spiritual values, the overall way it is presented makes it hard to relate to. There's too much rambling, the plot gets lost in a tangle of a plethora of reflections, and ridiculous, hard to follow action scenes.
I can imagine if Rudolfo and I met in one of the coffee houses he describes, we'd agree on many things and feel a real kinship of spirit. I respect what he is saying, I just wish it was presented in the more lyrical, sophisticated form of "Bless Me Ultima ", or at least in a more cohesive action novel like Tony Hillerman's. It is neither. But I admire his other works and I praise the voice that he has given to the first peoples of the Southwest.

[Donna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

My interest was piqued in Rudolfo Anaya's works when I attended a lecture at the Special Collections library in Albuquerque. I had recently been to Jemez Spring and also to Los Alamos so this title caught my eye. I really enjoyed the rich descriptions that Anaya gives about all things New Mexico. Having grown up in the state, his references to locations, descriptions of events, foods, smells, sights, forest and fauna etc. are rich and beautiful. So many of his descriptions could only be from someone who has lived and experienced these places and events. He often details the history of the people and the culture along the way.

I was confused with the storyline however until I realized this was the 4th in the Sonny Baca Mystery series. I recommend reading the others first to truly appreciate the history between the characters. So much about the character of Raven was mysterious and confusing to me until I realized Anaya was using magical realism. I enjoyed most of the book, although I felt like the storyline was weak and somewhat depressing, the writing sometimes rambled too much, but the descriptions were unique and rich.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are four books in this series. The first one was really good, but then the author began to weave in a lot of supernatural elements to the story. By the last book, Jemez Spring, there were pages of rambling stream-of-consciousness discourses about mythology, sex, weather, spiritual places, etc. The actual plot line became absurd, convoluted and unrealistic. I read it thinking it would bring the story arch of the series to a resolution, but that did not happen.

The first and second books would be enjoyable to you if you like thriller/murder mysteries, books set in the Southwest, etc. The characters of Sonny, Rita, Lorenza, and Don Eliseo are well developed and likeable.

[Alyssa Montoya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love Anaya's books and reading about New Mexico, but I ended up being turned off by the rambling in this one. I think the weaving together of spiritualities and cultures in New Mexico is important and beautiful, but much of this book was repetitive. The rambling got in the way of any plot that was trying to develop. I also became exasperated by the simplistic and formulaic descriptions of the women in the book. I believe that Anaya had the best of intentions when writing about all of these goddess-mother-sexy-types, but really there could have been much more authenticity there. If you are new to Anaya, please don't start with this one!!

[Candace · Rating 2 out of 5]

So what to say? What to say?.........um it's cool because it's set in Albuquerque so of course they talk about my hometown El Paso and Las Cruces and Juarez.......so love that part.....which is why I gave it a two.......however........omigosh it is just full of fluff and nothing substantial to keep me interested......it just goes off on a tangent and doesn't really say anything. I want to know what's going to happen next but no wait we have to describe every little part of history and spiritual thing .......um no......it's just too much of nothing.

[Brace1737 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jemez Spring is not an ordinary mystery novel. Mr. Anaya fills it with mythology, comedy,and satire.Readers of his works have come to expect "magical realism" that is one of his trademarks and he does not disappoint. Some knowledge of New Mexico is required`.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Rudolfo Anaya, very much. Yet, this is not one of my favorite books, from him. I only give it 2.5 stars.

[EDLundy-Veo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, another great novel featuring Sonny Baca!

[Jalilah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 4th of Anaya's Sunny Baca Mystery series. I would only recommend it for those who have read the first 3 books. I am a huge fan of Rudolfo Anaya and have read almost everything he has written. I like the fact that Anaya is a versatile writer. I know there was some controversy when he first started this series because it was a detective thriller and more violent than his other works. Although Bless Me, Ultima will remain one of my all time favorite books ever, I really liked the first three Sunny Baca books Zia Summer,Rio Grande Fall, and Shaman Winter, however this one was not as good. My feelings are that maybe Anaya felt pressure to write more in the style of his other books. As a result, Jemez Spring lost the thriller aspect that made the first three books so good, but still did not have the Magical Realism-Spirituality that many of his other books have.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 1 out of 5]

Remember how there is supposed to be a mystery in a mystery book? What a disappointment here, as Anaya re-hashes the themes on spirituality from the last book--only totally over the top with man-woman duality and coming together erotically. Overwrought nature metaphors for heterosex overshadow the weak as wet tissue paper plot as Anaya barely writes a story here--so intent on his vision of a melding of spiritualities that he forgets he's supposed to be writing a mystery book, not a new age primer.
Gah.

[Monty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth and last Sonny Baca mystery book by Rudolfo Anaya. And like the three before, I enjoyed the mix of supernatural and surface realities. There were times when the writing seemed to be too philosophical, yet I appreciated the depth and passion of the topics. Of course, this is a mystery novel, and I liked following how the author presented the puzzles and eventually brought things together. It would be nice if there were a fifth book, but alas I couldn't find one.

[Dad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Victoria and Ceci have been to Jemez Springs, New Mexico before so they have seen and I'm sure felt some form of native american mysticism about the place. The author spent too much time and pages describing the mysticism that Sony Baca, the detective and main character, felt when when he got into some tight spots or felt the bad guy, Raven, around. The story line was good

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wish Mr. Anaya would add to this series. While these detective novels are less metaphysical than his "Bless Me Ultima" best seller, there is a good amount of "other worldliness" integral to the plots. I enjoyed all of these, and recommend that they be read in order -- something I don't always feel to be necessary.

[E. Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of the Sonny Baca series. A great read with a lot of the Indian-Spanish folklore mixed in.

[Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

kept renewing this one, just could not get into it, read about a third of the book which only had about 10% mystery story and gave up, the rest was a dissertation on Indian spiritual beliefs.