Lucha Corpi

From the book jacket: Gloria Damasco, the Chicana detective tempered during the civil rights movement, is involved in solving another mystery complete with gruesome murders. Is it a serial killer that is leaving the corpses strewn with artifacts from Native American rituals? Does it have something to do with the farm workers’ union which the victims had worked for in the seventies?

My reactions
There’s just so much going on here that I don’t know where to begin.

First we have all of show more Gloria’s vivid and violent dreams … a woman crucified on a cactus, being cornered by a large rattlesnake, blood dripping everywhere. Supposedly Gloria has a gift for premonition, but will all her dreams come to life literally? Or are they more allegorical, portending danger, if not actual crucifixion.

Then we have all the political, social justice issues these characters face and faced. Reminders of the struggles for the farm workers in the ‘70s, with grape boycotts, marches, and violent altercations. And the issues of undocumented workers and their constant fear of reprisal.

Ultimately, though, I found these characters too stupid to live. Attacked in her own home, Gloria says, “No don’t call the police.” Instead she goes off in the dark to chase this provenly violent assailant, and potential killer. S*I*G*H.

Maybe my problem is that I never read the first book in the series, so don’t know enough of the back story, but I never connected with Gloria or Justin, and really didn’t care what happened to any of them. I thought the plot was far too convoluted and the resolution was weak and unbelievable. If it weren’t a book-club selection, I would have abandoned it. show less

Lucha Corpi, formally known as Luz del Carmen Corpi de Hernandez, is a 72-year-old Chicana poet, mother, wrestler of life and dreams, author of Chicana crime fiction, and revolutionary. Through “Confessions of a Book Burner,” Lucha crafts an impelling look at the hopes, fears and dreams that led to her becoming an established Chicana poet. Read the rest of my review on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/confessions-of-a-book-burner-...

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