Customer Reviews

Zia Summer

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

 

 

"Zia Summer," by Rudalfo Anaya, is about a small-timepersonal investigator from Albuquerque, New Mexico, named Sonny Baca,the great-grandson of famed lawman Elfego Baca. Sonny's cousin, Gloria Dominic, who is married to Frank Dominic, a very high political figure in the town, turns up dead. She was killed with surgical precision as all of her blood was drained and not a drop was spilled. Sonny, who is trained to find missing people, is hired by his aunt to find the murderer. He finds out that Gloria had many ties with a cult from the Sandia pueblo, and this cult worshipped the sun. He also finds out that this group is planning to blow up a truck that is going to the nuclear waste site in southern New Mexico. The truck is filled with nuclear waste and if it is blown up the contamination would kill the whole state.

This book was very good. The book was not only a great murder mystery, but it also had a lot of old Hispanic tales within the story. It is a great novel for anybody who likes a great book.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book.

I read Anaya's "Bless Me Ultima" and enjoyed it. I figured "Zia Summer" would be no different.

But it was. The flow was a bit choppy. Anaya fluctuates from spending pages discussing Chicano/Hispanic culture to the actual murder mystery plot. It came across as forced to me.

"Bless Me Ultima" was literature. "Zia Summer" was pulp fiction trying to be literature. Sadly it didn't even succeed (for me) as a sordid-page-turner-can't-put-it-down-whodunnit. I had no problem setting this book down from time to time.

Overall enjoyable, but a letdown for Anaya readers used to his more intelligent writings.

Zia Summer started off with a classic gruesome murder, and kept the reader guessing the whole time on who was behind it right alongside the main character, Sonny Baca.

Though the book had a few slow points from time to time, I always looked forward to the next chapter.

The story is also peppered with an unusual and highly identifiable cast of characters; each one to the readers liking.

My only complaints were to make the book more 'authentic' the author sprinkled the dialouge with Spanish slang that may confuse readers on what the characters are talking about.

Also the end was a bit anti-climatic, but all around very good.

The words from Zia Summer leap off the pages and etch themselves into your memory for all eternity!

A bizarre murder, a small time detective, a cast of memorable characters, a really nasty villain, and the enchanting city of Alburquerque make Zia Summer an unforgetable novel.

FIVE STARS!!

This was a book that I could hardly put down. Sonny Baca is one of a kind. Bring on more like this, Mr. Anaya!

First, the hero, Sonny Baca, is a bit of a dolt. I'm not sure if he was written that way on purpose or not and that is part of the problem.

Second, I figured out the answer to the "mystery" immediately after a certain character was introduced. It was that obvious.

Third, the villians are reputed to be totally evil yet their stated goals were worthy albeit the methods for obtaining them were violent and terrible. The author never addressed that contradiction.

Overall, there seemed to be a confusion of intent. That being said, the story had a lot in it that was diverting and interesting but I can't really recommend it.

Sonny Baca is a private detective investigating a cult murder of his cousin Gloria. The story weaves together a fabric using the old Native American, the Hispanic, and the Anglo traditions that are so juxtaposed in Albuquerque, and most of the Southwest. Anaya keeps us involved and entertained well by the cast of characters from the beginning to the dramatic climax. He shows us the good and the bad aspects of these traditions. In the end the reader is left with a greater appreciation for the natural beauty of the Southwest and a greater feeling for the traditions and beauty of both the fantasies and realities of these indigenous peoples. It helps to know a little Spanish to catch some of the brief phrases used, so a Spanish dictionary is helpful at times. However, the story never taxes the Anglo with Spanish since most of the words are either very common expressions or are explained in the text (except for the curses!). Hopefully, we can look forward to more about Sonny (and Rita) in the future.

The novel is admittedly uneven -- I suspect that hard-core mystery fans will become impatient with the see-it-coming-a-mile-away nature of some of the occurances -- but worth reading. Anaya's prose is frequently lovely and the characters resonate. In addition, it's a pleasure to read an author who presents the mystical/spiritual with respect. In my opinion, Anaya wasn't preachy, but he clearly agrees with Jung's assertion that the religious impulse in human beings is as ineradicable as the sex drive.