Let Their Spirits Dance: A Novel

by Stella Pope Duarte

An inspiring novel about family, the memories of war, and a woman who valiantly rallies herself and those she loves into reconciling with the past Stella Pope Duarte’s strong and musical voice is reminiscent of Laura Esquivel and Alice Hoffman. Let Their Spirits Dance is a moving, spirited story of a family who takes a trip to the Vietnam Memorial thirty years after the war, and whose trip evolves into a spiritual journey, towards healing and redemption. Teresa Ramirez, is a schoolteacher from El Cielito in Arizona. Still haunted by the death of her brother Jesse in the Vietnam War. Her mother cherishes the memory of her son’s words to her as he boarded the plane for Vietnam, when he told her she would hear his voice again. When Teresa’s ailing mother sees a photograph of the Vietnam War Memorial, she makes a vow to touch his name on the Wall, and this begins a journey that changes the lives of Teresa and her family forever. In this powerfully evocative novel, Pope Duarte connects family, friends, and an entire nation with the names on the Wall, honoring the men and women who served in Vietnam as well as those who watched and waited, but never forgot.

Genres: Banned Books, Fiction, Latino

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Stella Pope Duarte began her literary career in 1995 after she had a dream in which her deceased father related to her that her destiny was to become a writer.

Her first collection of short stories, Fragile Night, (Bilingual Review Press, 1997) won a creative writing fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and was named a candidate for the prestigious, Pen West Fiction Award.

In 2001 Ms. Duarte was awarded a second creative writing fellowship for her current novel, Let Their Spirits Dance. (HarperCollins, 2002). Harper Collins has described Ms. Duarte as a major, new literary voice in America.

Ms. Duarte's work has won awards and honors nationwide, including a nomination for the Pushcart Prize in Literature. Let Their Spirits Dance is on the Book Sense List, and was awarded the AZ Highways Fiction Award for 2003, and nominated as a ONEBOOKAz in 2004. Ms. Duarte won the 2003 Excellence in Latino Arts & Culture Award, presented by Valle del Sol.

In 2004, she received the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Award for an excerpt from her current work, If I Die in Jurez, (2008 Spring release), and in 2005 she was honored with the Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award by the American Association of Community Colleges. Governor Janet Napolitano appointed Ms. Duarte as a member of the Arizona Commission on the Arts in 2006, and her term will run for three years. Ms. Duarte is also on the Artists Roster for the Arizona Commission on the Arts, serving as a resident artist in creative writing for students in elementary through high school. She is a highly sought-after inspirational speaker for audiences of all ages, on topics related to her work, as well as on issues related to: women's rights, culture, diversity, leadership, education, literacy, Chicano/Latino history, writing, and storytelling. Ms. Duarte was born and raised in la Sonorita Barrio in South Phoenix."

Reviews

[Vicki Mee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Club

[Matthew De Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story line but drawn out. Felt it was anti-climactic and rather tame. I wanted to feel for the characters but could not. Not sure what happened here.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story opens in Phoenix Arizona when an elderly Latino mother, Alicia, hears the voice of her son, Jesse, who died nearly 30 years ago in Viet Nam. She is convinced she must make a trip to Washington D.C. to touch his name on the VietNam Memorial Wall. The strength of this mother's vision draws her family into her intention to make the difficult trip. Her other children have all been affected by their brother's death and by the troubles in Alicia's marriage. The story is told from the viewpoint of her daughter Teresa whose estranged, wayward husband seems to mirror the father she grew up knowing. Teresa is not sure about her mother's strong belief in this quest, but eventually a long overdue payment makes the trip possible. Gradually the journey brings to light the festering psychological wounds in the family as well as drawing others along on the journey, both old friends of Jesse's and other strangers who lost family members to the war. Duarte gives a nuanced portrait of a family struggling to come to terms with the past, and provides background woven into the story of the greatly overlooked and unappreciated heroic sacrifices of Chicano soldiers in this long, horrible war.
A novel of love, healing, and new life.

[Stephanie Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best pick for the first Phantom Book Club. I went local and it backfired. Her second novel, If I Die in Juarez, was much better and shows me that she really matured as a writer after this book. The Phoenix angle was interesting to this former Phoenician and there was much about the story that was worth following. However, the writing was clumsy (especially the dialog...a pet peeve). Too much of the story was predictable, bordering on maudlin. I expected more. (Sorry ladies. I will do better next time!)

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

#114 08/21/06
Let Their Spirits Dance by Stella Pope Duarte
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction, 2003, 346 pgs
CHARACTERS: Teresa Ramierz/teacher
TIME/PLACE: 1960's to 1990's, Phoenix, AZ\
COMMENTS: Jesse Ramirez dies in Vietnam. His family 30 yrs later makes a pilgrimage to the Memorial Wall in DC

[suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The struggles of a family dealing with the death of their brother and son in the Vitenam war. This book was used when I received it and in the inside of the front cover the owner had written "strangely beautiful." And disturbing too. It reminded me that we are trapped in a war in our own era... so moving, so upsetting. I hope the issue doesn't get lost now that the focus is on the economy.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to everyone. By far one of the best books I've read. It made me laugh, cry, yearn for those that I've lost, and remember how good it is to have family in your life. The songs she sang brought me back to the days when my Grandpa was alive. I could read this book over and over.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and must say I'm a bit surprised to find so few ratings. It's been several years since I read Let their Spirits Dance, but I remember it as a moving and emotional story about a family's grief juxtaposed against the classic road trip story. Quirky characters and a bit of the supernatural provide humor and inspiration. I'm definitely going to re-read this soon.

[Melissa Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me laugh and cried. it taught me the importantce of family and how family can get you thru the worst of times and the best of times.

One can easily relate to.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred If I Die in Juarez, but anything by Stella is bound to be good.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous read...emotional...

[Patricia Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this
Storytelling at its best
Believable
Sensual and romantic
Heartbreaks and pain
Hopeful

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave it a chance by reading half-way through the book. Not an interest to me and stopped reading.