Spirits of the Ordinary: A Tale of Casas Grandes

Hispanic writing today seems to fall within three distinct categories, i.e., contemporary fiction (mostly urban in context), historical fiction and mystical fiction. With "Spirits of the Ordinary" Kathleen Alcala has supplied us with an excellent example of the mystical genre which is, insofar as I can assess, by far the most difficult and interesting format to work with and master.Set in the late 19th century, the book essentially is the story of one man-born a Jew, married into a large Catholic family, so estranged from both he lives essentially alone prospecting for gold in the mountains of old Mexico-who eventually becomes the equivalent of a shaman to and for the indiginious Indian communities in Northern Mexico/Southern New Mexico.Alcala hits the righ tone by introducing her mysticim indirectly and in a low key--the requisite angels, spirits and revelations are present, but are a complement to rather than the focus of the basic story. The book exhibits flaws common to the debut novel--sometimes disjointed, major characters a bit too out of focus, minor characters given too much play, etc., but the genuiness of the story, the aura of mysticims established, the overll quality of the writing and the extraordinary bredth of the core characters more than compensate for these weaknesses.Overall, this was one of the best novels I'e read this year and I highly recommend it.

Nicely told story set in New Mexico around the turn of the century. Includes a reluctant guru, gold explorations, handsome officers and hasty marriages.