The Border

by Marina Fitch

Sixteen years after her Irish father and her sister passed over the border from Mexico into California, leaving her waiting at the crossing, Rosa dares another attempt and is badly injured, summoning a guardian spirit to her side

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

307 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Sade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice light read between runs to the library. Fans of Charles DeLint would probably appreciate this one. I felt the ending was a little lacking - as if the author was working within a set amount of pages and suddenly realized she was running out of room and needed to wrap it all up. I could have used one more chapter to flesh out exactly what happened, and perhaps some more detail on certain characters. Aside from tose omissions, and an extra dollop of woo right at the end, the story moved along fairly well and was enjoyable enough. I would likely check out something else by the same author if it crossed my path.

[Sylviane Stoltzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to think of this book at first. Part One was a bit confusing from the flashbacks. Part Two guided me along an inspirational journey about love, magic, communication, and hope. Overall, the book ended beautifully, and I’m glad I came across this story.

[Nora Peevy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique twist on ghosts and chupacabras. Beautiful look into a little Mexican society. Also discusses illegal immigrants, coyotes, and the border towns along the U.S./Mexico border. Overall, entertaining. The fantasy element was slight, but there. You could argue this book fell into magic realism, even. Very well written. I am going to look for more books by the author. Oh, and the cover art was just gorgeous on this one, which I know has nothing to do with the story, but still...

I will blog more when I have a few more books to add to my usual review postings.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just re-read (July 2009)... I remember the first time I read this that I thought it was not as good as her previous novel, The Seventh Heart.

As I re-read it I found it quite a depressing novel. But I did not remember the ending from before (well it was 9 years ago)... the ending resolved all the depressing parts, but still it left me frustrated.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this story-- I loved the scenery, all so familiar to me...and the "spiritual" guidance the characters receive. I also loved that what I assumed was going to happen at the end, didn't. Plus the added benefit of knowing Marina, all made it that much sweeter.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Latino-based fantasy that lost points with me by having an ex-IRA man as a sympathetic character. It brought home the difference between middle-class American/European expectations and third world ones, but was mostly muddled in its fantasy aspects, and without a particularly exciting plot.