Customer Reviews

The Border

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm going to say the nice things first, because the rest of this review *isn't*. This book is trying to do something new -- specifically, it's not another installment of a 7 book saga of yet another author ripping off J.R.R. Tolkien. It looks at a culture that isn't well-known or well-explored by the modern fantasy world. There are no dragons, no swords, no princesses, and no dire prophecies. Magic is here, yes, but it's just as inexplicable to the wielder as to those around her. Hopefully she will continue to explore cultures such as these as she continues to develop her talents.

But otherwise, I have to disagree with the glowing review of this book. The writing was nice enough, but the twists and turns of the story that Ms. Fitch's plot depends on are just too unbelievable, if not simply absurd. Good writing requires that the reader be coaxed into a suspension of belief -- the writer creates a world that is so vivid, we never question the events that unfold as anything but valid, true, and *real*. You must seduce the reader into trusting this new place the author has created; you can't sullenly say, "It works like this because I'm the author, that's why." Fitch has a good idea here, and plenty of potentially interesting elements, but she never once takes the time to develop them into anything more than annoying inconsitencies that frankly, mar the entire work.

The life of Rosa and her mother are saved by her guardian spirit, yet when the guardian is screaming at the top of her lungs, "NO! GO BACK! THIS WAY LIES DANGER!" Rosa just plods obstinately along and right into the Major Plot Device. No real reason is given for why, considering this experience, Rosa would so flatly ignore her guardian. Yet ignore she does. Luz's urgency, distress, and abject fear are very well-portrayed; however, this only serves to make Rosa's single-mindedness look moronic by comparison. A simple sentence saying something to the effect of "Despite everything Luz had done over the years, Rosa could not erase the dread and fear of that night she last saw her father. She could not, could not put her trust in Luz tonight." would have gone a long, long way here. Or, "Rosa was so tired of the way Luz saw danger in every shadow, like a half-hysterical old grandmother. Tonight, she would be her own woman who makes and stands by her own choices." the refusal to explain Rosa's inexorable headlong dive into mortal danger is irritating because it so easily could have been written better.

This is hardly the only time Fitch's laziness damages her admittedly original story. After spending half the book watching Mary anguish over her childlessness, are we *really* expected to believe that it's caused by medicinal herbs given to her in her morning tea by a well-meaning old man to *intentionally* cause her sterility? For one thing, who is this person that he has this knowledge? Are we supposed to believe that every Anglo-Saxon retiree has a bottle of these herbs that "the Shoshone women used" in their medicine cabinets? I don't think it's too much to ask that when characters act on strange and little known information, we be told something of how they aquired such obscure knowledge; I refuse to believe everyone finds these things out by watching The Discovery Channel. But then, we're expected to swallow well-meaning-old-man's excuse that it just *slipped his mind* that 18-year-old Mary might someday might want to have children. "(It) Never occurred to me that you might want kids..." he explains. This has all the credibility of a badly-written episode of "All My Children". Why should we believe this? Who in the world would buy that kind of line? Unfortunately, I did -- paid $5.99 for this silliness and much more just like it.

I admit that this review is very sarcastic, but it's because that the sorts of blunders (that occur all throughout the book) could have been so easily corrected with just a little more explanation, a little more exposition, a little more revelation. And who knows, maybe this book got butchered by the editors; all the omissions that drove me to distraction might have ended up on the proverbial cutting-room floor. I certainly hope so. Even so, I'm going to get my copy of "Seventh Heart", her first novel, from the library. Until she can produce better work, I refuse to pay for another Marina Fitch novel.

I loved this book. It introduced me to people and places that gave me fresh, often subtle insight into the human condition. Any journey involves sacrifice and change. The decision to move, to give up one life in the hope of a better one, is never easy. It requires courage, determination, and a willingness to take risks -- to go forward despite the reservations of friends, family, and trusted advisors. The danger can be physical, emotional, or both, and as potentially damaging as it is liberating.

Rosa's journey from Mexico into the U. S. is both physical and metaphysical. The boundary formed by the U.S.-Mexico border mirrors the psychological, familial, and spiritual divisions she must bridge to provide a safe home for her unborn child, reunite with her family after years of separation, and make her life whole -- despite the racial, economic, and political obstacles erected in her path. I found the cultural, social, and geographic realism of this book absolutely convincing. The characters were believable, their motivations complex, understandable, and human. They were all well-rounded, with weaknesses as well as strengths. We all do things -- good/bad, smart/stupid, admirable/ignoble -- which we cannot always explain, not just to others but to ourselves. The Border explores the consequences of these acts, postive and negative, without heavy-handed moarlizing or judgment.

What I particularly liked about the magic in the book is that it grew out of the character. Instead of Rosa being shaped by the magic she possesses, the magic is shaped by her. The power to change the world, and by extension herself, is manifested internally rather than externally. What a wonderful metaphor for the empowerment of the human spirit, which is constantly struggling to be felt in the world. Unlike the magic in so many traditional epic fantasies, Rosa doesn't have the ability to conjure lightening bolts, make herself invisible, or cause the earth to open up. What she does have is the ability to shape her life, and through her, the lives of others -- which can be one of the most hopeful messages and inspiring miracles of all.

This premise was so cool, I really wanted this book to rock. As a Latina myself I was very excited about reading a fantasy based on my culture, not yet another medieval-esqu euro-fantasy. But I agree - it so did not deliver. She had good moments, but far too many dumb plot mistakes. It doesn't have to be Shakespeare, but it does need to be well-written, not with the kinds of holes a five-year-old can see through. You can almost see the book this could have been, and I am frustrated at how good it almost was and yet is so *very* not. Take another writing course, lady, you almost had it... but this embarassing book is not it

I loved this book - it's rich with the kind of fantasy and magical realism that we see in our favorite (and well aclaimed) books from South American authors but that is so often missing in American fantasy. And, as other reviews have helpfully pointed out, no dragons, swordfights, blood and gore (OK, just a little), no magic wands. A refreshing change and a new view.

Marina Fitch is a very talented writer and I'm only sorry to see that there aren't more of her books available... I truly hope that this doesn't mean that she has stopped writing.

This was a good book, something i really hadn't got to read about too much. And it was really good, but some things just can't be ignored. Like, why Papa didn't send for mama, or the terrible rushed ending. But it is a good read if you are willing to overlook some things and make up your own ending. It really does have good intentions.

While I agree with a lot of what the sarcastic reviewer below me wrote, I also think you can't expect Shakespeare from escapist fiction. Who cares about the minor unbelievability? It's a FANTASY novel. I liked the idea of the story, it kept my attention and I liked the fresh turn of it.(maybe I'm easily amused....so be it) There aren't many contemporary fantasies out. Sure, it had obvious holes that were filled rather lamely. So what. I doubt Ms. Fitch is going for the Nobel Prize in Literature. As the reviewer pointed out, a good writer leads the reader down the path of unbelievability. But so too does a good reader willingly follow that path. I gave this book 3 stars because it's not the best fantasy I've read, but it certainly isn't the worst. It's not a bad read.