The Madness of Mam%C3%A1 Carlota

Lim%C3%B3n's latest (after The River Flows North) disappoints with an out-of-context look at a misunderstood historical figure. Three hardworking orphan sisters of the Chontal people%E2%80%94Tila, Chelo, and Lula%E2%80%94find work within the confines of a rich hacienda in rural Mexico in 1852, but when the scion of the estate rapes Lula, the sisters take revenge and flee. Seeking safety from both local uprisings and family reprisal, the sisters are taken in by Carlota, the recently arrived French Empress on tour of the newly conquered Mexican territory. Afraid of her new husband and desperately lonely, Carlota finds the sisters the only trustworthy women in the bustling palace, and despite the rumors that they secretly practice witchcraft, makes them her personal handmaidens. The sisters begin to trust her too, and when the French lose Mexico and the royals must secretly leave the country, they accompany their mistress back to Europe. Thwarted by a powerful family and an ineffectual husband, Carlota makes a fascinating historical figure. Unfortunately, her character is flattened by repetitive storytelling and the overdevelopment of a romantic subplot. Oddly, given her background in Latina/o studies, Lim%C3%B3n also fails to challenge the European view of the indigenous as a monolithic entity; the sisters never develop as compelling individuals. Such potentially strong characters receive less than their due in this bland historical. (Mar. 31)