The Distance Between Us is a careful study of the world we
live in, the world we create and how it’s constantly changing. Of course, as with
all life, our relationships influence our world. While there are many aspects of Reyna Grande’s
memoir worthy of mention, this one stands out. Not only because challenging
life circumstances are overcome but also because these circumstances are crafted
on a macro and micro level by including different points of view within the same scene.
In a conversation between the protagonist and Tia
Emperatriz, Grande uses a child and adult point of view to discuss the micro and
macro levels of Iguala, Mexico and. She writes;
“I know now what she had wanted me to see back then; the
banks of the canal lined with trash and debris floating in the water, the crumbling
adobe houses, the shacks made of sticks…” Here the adult point of view works to
describe the impact of poverty caused by a poor economy. Grande then includes the child perspective, “But
what I saw back then I saw through the eyes of a child—a child who had never
been anywhere, a child who was still innocent enough…What I saw was the velvety
mountains around us, the clear blue sky, the beautiful jacaranda trees covered
in purple flowers…” Through the child point of view, we see beauty and
hope. Including both perspectives Grande
creates believable scenes that the reader can trust.
When Mami leaves for El Otro Lado she places Mago in charge of her younger siblings Reyna and Carlos. "Do you promise to take care of your hermanos for me, be their little mother? Again Grande, employs simultaneous points of views to give the reader an intense, realistic scene of how harsh economic times forced families to separate thereby changing the world on a micro and macro level. Mami relies on her oldest daughter, Mago to fill the role of "little mother" while the children struggle to understand why they are being abandoned. "Mago's job was to take care of us and to shelter us from the reality that only she could fully grasp. I had her as a buffer, but she had no one but herself (57)." The juxtaposition of contrasting points of view works well through the book.
Otro Lado, the other side is viewed as another world. According to Tia Maria Felix, "There's no trash in the street like here in Mexico. Trucks there pick up the trash every week. And you know what the best thing is? The trees there are special--they grow money (45)." According the children, El Otro Lado, "had returned to us a different version of my mother, one who was bitter, heartbroken and weighed down by the knowledge that she had four children to support and was on her own (78)."
I'm learning that writing memoir is tricky business. If the characters are flat or scenes are over dramatized, its not believable. For example, if Abuela Evila was portrayed only as the mean grandmother her character could be viewed as one dimensional. However Grande, also includes a softer side of the character, "Look at Maria Felix. It's been nine years, and every time Elida asks her when she's finally coming back, she gives her excuses as to why she can't yet. But that's all they are. Excuses. And then its me who has to dry the tears, who has to find ways to lessen the pain (64)."
The Distance Between Us is well rounded craft that is easy to believe because it paints the picture of two worlds and two points of views lived in the same moment from different locations.
When Mami leaves for El Otro Lado she places Mago in charge of her younger siblings Reyna and Carlos. "Do you promise to take care of your hermanos for me, be their little mother? Again Grande, employs simultaneous points of views to give the reader an intense, realistic scene of how harsh economic times forced families to separate thereby changing the world on a micro and macro level. Mami relies on her oldest daughter, Mago to fill the role of "little mother" while the children struggle to understand why they are being abandoned. "Mago's job was to take care of us and to shelter us from the reality that only she could fully grasp. I had her as a buffer, but she had no one but herself (57)." The juxtaposition of contrasting points of view works well through the book.
Otro Lado, the other side is viewed as another world. According to Tia Maria Felix, "There's no trash in the street like here in Mexico. Trucks there pick up the trash every week. And you know what the best thing is? The trees there are special--they grow money (45)." According the children, El Otro Lado, "had returned to us a different version of my mother, one who was bitter, heartbroken and weighed down by the knowledge that she had four children to support and was on her own (78)."
I'm learning that writing memoir is tricky business. If the characters are flat or scenes are over dramatized, its not believable. For example, if Abuela Evila was portrayed only as the mean grandmother her character could be viewed as one dimensional. However Grande, also includes a softer side of the character, "Look at Maria Felix. It's been nine years, and every time Elida asks her when she's finally coming back, she gives her excuses as to why she can't yet. But that's all they are. Excuses. And then its me who has to dry the tears, who has to find ways to lessen the pain (64)."
The Distance Between Us is well rounded craft that is easy to believe because it paints the picture of two worlds and two points of views lived in the same moment from different locations.
Thanks Stacy. Yes, the fullness of characters is a tricky thing, particularly when one is a child and sees the world in starter contrasts. But even with Evila as a kind of antagonist, we can see a softer side--same with Papi. Well done
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The author is skillful at showing us a place or person from multiple angles. The scene that you mention where Mexico is depicted as full of 'trash and debris' but also has 'trees covered in purple flowers' was one of the places where we have a view from many different lenses. We have the child who is poor, and so may not notice the trash as much as she does the flowers. And we have Tia, who works and has her own money- she seems disgusted with the trash because she has most likely seen other neighborhoods and knows that are better ways to live. Memoir is tricky business- it's so important to let readers have multiples ways in which to enter and view the world. Life is complex, and stories should be too. Thanks for this observation.
ReplyDeleteStacy! I too choose the passage where she takes a taxi ride with her aunt on the way to the doctor. I focused on how it was Grande's technique of creating a complete picture, but you took that a step further and said that it created credibility, which is what you found lacking in The Glass Castle, because of the one angle, its all coming together, like Elmaz planned it or something lol
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