(reviewed by JD Jung)
“Since always, our paths had been broken. And yet we insisted on finding our way back to each other.”
Yes, families can have a strange and complex dynamic. This is but one major theme in the riveting stories of Eat the Mouth That Feeds You. These eclectic short but powerful stories take place on both sides of the US/Mexican border.
Each voice tries to be heard and most importantly struggles to gain autonomy and control over her life. This is sometimes fighting manipulation that appears as care and survival, from childhood though adolescence, adulthood and beyond.
And death is part of that, as in one of my favorites, “Ini and Fati “. The author is able to give a voice to the dead, who weren’t heard when they were alive in the story, “Me Muero”. Strangely, these two are not depressing.
Though the stories can function as stand-alones, I felt that each was strategically placed in the collection. I also enjoyed the ones featuring the “Vicious Ladies”, who reappear in separate stories as middle-schoolers to adults.
Author Carribean Fragoza writes with luscious, striking prose and digs deep into the feelings of her complicated characters. I was totally immersed in them and finished the stories in one sitting.
I look forward to reading more from this author. She has a lot to say.
