cover image A Crucifixion in Mexico

A Crucifixion in Mexico

M. K. Walker, Kathleen Walker. Black Heron Press, $23.95 (270pp) ISBN 978-0-930773-52-6

Gloria is an angst-ridden baby boomer living from paycheck to paycheck, whose story revolves around one chilling event in her past: 20 years ago, on a trip to Mexico as an artless college student searching for love and adventure, Gloria and a group of friends witnessed a symbolic crucifixion that ended in tragedy. Andrew, one of those friends, explores his unresolved feelings for Gloria in retrospect. Walker's novel alternates between these two narrators, who are still part of each other's lives, in part because of the sexual tension between them, but also because the violent scene in Mexico has essentially bound them together. The crucifixion is not meant to kill the participant; the man on the cross is voluntarily suffering in thanks for his daughter's miraculous healing. When he does die almost as soon as the cross is raised, the crowd feels cheated and apparently takes out its anger on the Anglo students, who take refuge in a church and, when the mob scene is over, resume their carefree lives. Describing how Gloria, Andrew and their friends deal with the long-term effects of the experience is ostensibly the objective of this loosely constructed, plain-spoken book; however, its real theme seems to be how the aimlessness of American youth generates the uncertain texture of American middle age. The novel also struggles to address the American class system, racial issues and the boomer generation from Gloria's and Andrew's standpoints. Both characters speak in jaded, lackluster monologues that are perhaps meant to reflect their disappointment in themselves and the world. The crucifixion is clearly posed as Andrew and Gloria's defining moment, but Walker is unpersuasive in presenting this event, and its powerful potential falters. (Jan.)