Customer Reviews

Let Their Spirits Dance: A Novel

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LET THEIR SPIRITS DANCE by Stella Pope Duarte

The debut novel by Stella Pope Duarte, LET THEIR SPIRITS DANCE revolves around a Hispanic family's trip from their Arizona home to the Vietnam Wall, in a journey where they question themselves, their beliefs, and remember the family member they lost to the Vietnam War.

School teacher Teresa Ramirez has held on to the knowledge, all these 30 years, that her brother Jesse knew he was not going to return from the Vietnam War. On his departure at the airport, he whispers to her that he will not be back, and to take care of their mother. This memory haunts her when they get word six months later of his death while trying to help out a fellow soldier who was shot down. Thirty years later, when Teresa's mother Alicia informs everyone she has heard Jesse call to her, Teresa is more than just upset, and wonders if her mother is hallucinating or if her mother truly has these powers where she can hear from the dead.

Then, in a surprising turn of events, they are informed that because of an error made by the government all those years ago, Alicia has $90,000 coming to her because of Jesse's death. This seals the deal - Alicia informs the family they are going to DC to touch Jesse's' name on the wall. It doesn't matter that Teresa is being sued by her husband's girlfriend for assault, or that Teresa is waiting to hear about her soon-to-be divorce from Ray. Alicia says it will all take care of itself, and that they are all to go on this journey together. Alicia's health is in jeopardy, but she is determined to do this, as the last thing she may do on this earth.

Duarte tells the story with flashbacks, the point of view coming mostly from Teresa, as she remembers her childhood with Jesse and her other siblings Priscilla and Paul, happy moments as well as sad moments that continue to bother her into the present. She remembers her father, who was unfaithful to her mother Alicia, a man that Teresa had no respect for. She also remembers the stories she heard from an old Aztec medicine man, Don Florencio, who talked about the ancient Aztecs, their heritage, about dead spirits and other things that Teresa wants to believe are true.

While the first half of the book is filled with mostly flashbacks and helps set up the story, the second half details the journey that the Ramirez family and friends take, as they drive in a caravan of vehicles to their destination in Washington. They become the favorite of the media, thanks to the help of nephew Michael and his computer, even garnering the attention of President Clinton. Relationships are mended and created as the trip ensues, while more and more people join the caravan, and when they finally reach their final destination, it is a moment of sadness and remembrance as they embrace those that have left them.

This reviewer enjoyed LET THEIR SPIRITS DANCE. The story of the Vietnam War and how it affected one family, as well as one group of people, the Hispanics, was eye opening. The ending was expected, yet it also was climatic in that one had waited so long for this journey to end. It was not truly a happy ending, but what made it happy was their realization that our loved ones are never really far from us, only separated by death. Teresa's story involved one's questioning of faith and religious beliefs, and reconciling one's past with the present. Her problems are resolved in a manner that surprised this reviewer, but it was a wonderful ending to her story as well as Alicia's journey in search of her son. Some readers may find the politics in this book to be opposite of what they feel, as Duarte does not hold back on her views of the war, told through the eyes of the characters in this story. Other than that, four stars for LET THEIR SPIRIT DANCE.

Jesse A. Ramirez was killed in action in Viet Nam on June 7, 1968. His mother & sister have learnt to live with their grief.

Until that Christmas when Senora Ramirez hears her son's voice. When a letter arrives soon after explaining how the military had made a mistake & now owes the family some serious money, the mourning matriarch becomes inspired. She herds her surviving children & theirs into a convoy of autos, to drive from Pheonix so she can touch her son's name upon the Vietnam Memorial Wall, & know some peace.

It is Teresa, the adult sister to whom Jesse often wrote, who tells the story, taking us into her Mexica past where a holy man gives healing & ancient spirits dwell. Where fathers & husbands wander from their marriages. Where sisters squabble & children grow up in the raza barrios of Arizona. Where honor is thwarted, bureaucrats bicker & clues are strewn like petals from a passion flower.

As the family sets out into the sunrise, Teresa's nephew creates a website & America joins them on their pilgrimage, gathering up Jesse's army buddies, attracting the attention of the military. & then someone from Little Saigon in California makes contact, & Jesse's spirit finally comes home.

RebeccasReads recommends LET THEIR SPIRITS DANCE as profoundly emotional, deeply spiritual & intensely rewarding.

Let Their Spirits Dance introduces both a newcomer to fiction writing and the first novel to address the topic of Latin soldiers during the Vietnam War. A Latino son drafted to Vietnam is killed soon after, and his family never quite succeeds in confronting the meaning of his death. Three decades later a mother will seek to understand, setting in motion events which will change the family. A powerful, important novel.

The novel is a good read and covers a much needed topic in American Literature: the experience of Chicano/a people during the Vietnam War. The novel promotes a sense of responsibility of human beings for one another, regardless of race or nation, and this is an important message in our times. At times the plot was a bit too predictable, but there are also moments of poetic beauty in SPD's writing. I'd read another novel written by her, though I'm not sure I'd introduce this novel into my classroom. Perhaps a second read will convince me, though.

This reading is a must for anyone who has not reflected on the VietNam war. Stella Pope Duarte does an excellent job of developing the story so that the reader feels that he or she is right there. I had written this review before but it did not do it justice, until reviewing the book again in light of more recent wars we have had. This story is timeless and this book encapsulates the reader so that he or she is experiencing the depth of emotions the family in this book had felt. Stella's kindness and deep tenderness of who she is, as a person, shines in this timeless work.

This novel was wonderful! I am still amazed at the author's ability to cover so many different difficult topics in a flawless manner. An amazing "tale" that needed to be told............

Stella Pope Duarte's bio says she is a university instructor and a high school counselor. I'll bet she took a lot of writing and/or literature classes during her school years, because her debut novel is nothing short of a miracle, considering how publishers continue to release poorly constructed, poorly edited books.

From the first sentence -- "The passion vine bloomed until late November the year Jesse died."

-- until the last paragraph --

". . . No one knows if a spirit can balance on the point of a pin, or send light beams when we least expect. I looked down at the Wall. Light shone from it like a laser beam reaching us flying overhead. It's OK that I knew my brother wasn't coming home. I was supposed to. It got me to write this book, to tell his story to the world."

-- Ms. Duarte's elegant, mystical prose casts a spell on her reader.

Duarte weaves the story of a Chicano family torn asunder by the death of its beloved son/brother/cousin Jesse Ramirez during the Viet Name War in 1968.

Before he boarded the plane, Jesse promised his mother that she would hear his voice again. When she finally hears his voice one night, some thirty years after his death, she cannot rest until she visits the Viet Nam Memorial Wall to touch his name.

Jesse's family has not fared well since his death. One of his sisters, Teresa, is in the middle of a difficult divorce. Another sister can't find Mr. Right, although not from lack of effort. His brother is an ex-con trying to connect with his estranged son. His buddies who returned from the war have had their share of struggles, too.

Riding herd on this rag-tag group is Jesse's mother, Alicia Rodriguez. She alone has not lost faith and despite her fragile health and lack of money, she is determined to make the long trek to Washington to see the Wall.

I look forward to many, many more books from Stella Pope Durate. She's got all the skills necessary to teach us about quality writing and to entertain us for years to come.

Enjoy.

Stella Pope Duarte's is an excellent novel about the long-lasting effects of the Vietnam war on an Arizona family and how they finally come to face some of the devastation. The novel is narrated by Teresa, whose older brother Jesse, was killed in 1968. Thirty years later, her mother hears Jesse's voice calling to her and she ultimately decides that she must go to the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington. The trip and the events leading up to it are difficult, bringing up painful memories of Jesse and their own lives before and after his death. The trip and what they find when they get there will change their lives completely. Let Their Spririts Dance is a satisfying, moving read.

If we define good literature as telling a great story with skill, respect and insight, then Let Their Spirits Dance does that with flying colors. This story of the Ramirez family's pilgrimage to the Vietnam Memorial is told with presence, suspense, love, and always a search - a search that extends beyond the thirty year span of the story and beyond ethnic traditions to larger questions plaguing humanity itself.

Good literature teaches and Let Their Spirits Dance is no exception. Ms. Duarte is a gutsy writer who can throw a punch with the best of them when it comes to asking hard questions. Coming away from this book many will have learned a whole new perspective and history about millions of people that they knew little about, and maybe, like me, ticked at the system because they didn't know. With television all over everything, how come the press wasn't talking about the Chicanos and Blacks and American Indians that were being drafted and sent to the front lines in outlandishly disproportionate numbers?

Likewise, as daily body counts they fell in disproportionate numbers. And for every dead vet - every Jesse Ramirez - there were dozens of loved ones that had their lives forever ripped and altered. As author Duarte says, the casualties of that war extend far, far beyond those etched on The Wall.

It is time for the voices from The Wall to speak, and it's hard to imagine them having a more eloquent and visionary author than Stella Pope Duarte. This book is destined to be a permanent part of world literature.

Stella Pope Duarte tells her tale of love, hope, betrayal and tragedy with pure beauty. Her phrasing spoke to my heart, and I became alive in her story. Particularly for people who have memories of the Vietnam War, but also for those who want to gain an understanding of domestic issues at the time, this book will rock your soul. It's a quiet book, but by no means a small one. I hope it will flush your soul with beauty as it did mine.