My head is struggling to form and articulate an opinion at the moment. Overactive weekend cells require time to regroup. Well, let’s see how this goes….
Just closed the book. A tad dumbfounded by the final chapter, although, to be fair, see above. I can’t claim to have fully grasped the meaning of the Cackles’ closing discourse, but it did leave me thinking that Ruiz de Burton’s criticisms were aimed far more acutely at American class politics (and the various hypocrisies found therein) than at gender or even race issues. Needless to say, these concerns are not to be dismissed, but it would appear as though they are simply obvious dissatisfactions with society. They are easily mentioned in passing, but I feel as though she failed to demonstrate any passionate intent behind her disapproval. Is this an example of feminist literature? It certainly doesn’t strike me as being intentionally so. That Burton addresses matters of gender and race related inequalities only speaks to the fact that they were clearly present in her time and she was faced with their adversity in daily life. We write about what we know. Was she dissatisfied with the treatment she saw minority groups receiving? Of course, and it’s natural for her to expose them, but I don’t think that’s why she wrote this book. It’s easy to turn those injustices into a more dramatic read (not to trivialize their consequence), but I can’t help but feel that she was much more passionate about the dirty shit going on between rich, white men. She seems to race to tie up the loose ends of the story, while leaving the last word as an attack on the deceitful, manipulative and downright repulsive norms of "patriotic" politics.
Anyways, I enjoyed the read. I found Ruiz de Burton’s novel to be fairly well written and informative, while captivating my interest in the drama of the characters’ lives. More time needed to fully digest. Gah. Brain. How I abuse you.
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