Customer Reviews

The Flower in the Skull

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kathleen Alcala's "The Flower in the Skull" is a haunting, beautiful and well-researched novel that begins deep in Mexico's Sonoran Desert in the late 1800s and follows three generations of women up to the present. Alcala's language is clear, evocative and, at times, heart-wrenching as she tells this story of diaspora, lost family connections and personal discovery. One of the most moving chapters (titled, "The Girl in the Closet") is Alcala at her best as she captures the almost overwhelming fears of a woman beaten down by the sexual transgressions of her employer: "If I just stay here, I will be fine. Before I shut the door, I got a box of crackers from the kitchen, so I will be fine." This is a powerful novel.

In Flower in the Skull we see three generations of women trying to adapt to their sorroundings and at the same time make sense of their past. This is no easy task but the characters make an effort, and although they are not always totally happy, they manage to make it on their own. A very good book, very honest and informative.

I read this book first of the trilogy. I fell in love with the stories and read all three in just a few weeks time. The stories take us to a time, a place and a people who are forgotten. The women and men of Mexico, in the transition time when borders are fluid and countries are defining themselves, creating themselves, on the backs of the poor. They are people whose lives do not have happy endings. People who lived as best they could with few resources and no opportunities. My heart was taken by the characters. Alcala does a wonderful job of weaving history into a story that could be true.

It is a lovely read. Enjoy.