Every culture has its own folklore, its own myths, its own fantastical creatures. Getting to explore these is one of my favourite things to do. Another one of my favourite things is seeing folklore and myth re-imagined, repurposed for modern times and modern trials. This is where the stunning
Maria, Maria comes in. Thanks to W.W. Norton & Company, Liveright and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay.
Pub. Date: 4/26/2022
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company; Liveright
For fans of Kali Fajardo-Anstine and Lesley Nneka Arimah, a darkly funny and imaginative debut conjuring tales of Mexican American mystics and misfits.
"The first witch of the waters was born in Destruction. The moon named her Maria." From former PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow Marytza K. Rubio comes Maria, Maria, an inimitable collection set across the tropics and megacities of the Americas.
Readers will be enticed and infuriated as characters negotiate with nature to cast their desired ends—such as the enigmatic community college professor in "Brujeria for Beginners'; the disturbingly faithful widow in "Tijuca"; and the lonely little girl in "Burial," who awakens a sabretooth tiger. Brimming with sharp wit and ferocious female intuition, the book bubbles over into a novella of fantastical proportions—a "tropigoth" family drama set in a reimagined California micro-rainforest about the legacies of three Marias, possibly all Marias. Writing in prose so lush it threatens to creep off the page, Rubio emerges as a bold voice new voice in contemporary short fiction.
About the Author: Marytza Rubio has an MFA in creative writing: Latin America and was a Bread Loaf scholar. She is the founder of Makara Center for the Arts, a nonprofit library in her hometown of Santa Ana, California.
Short stories truly are an artform all to themselves. In my more naive years I thought that short stories must be easier, since they are shorter than full-blown novels. Over the years I have come to realise that nothing is quite as hard as crafting a good short story. You have a limited number of pages, even words, to make your point and yet your story needs to have all the depth and structure of a full novel. Maria, Maria heavily focuses on characteriation to pull this fine balance of and she does so masterfully. Each of these stories feels thematically connected and yet each story stands on its own as well. Maria, Maria also does Magical Realism in the way I adore, meaning magic quite simply is as real as the rest of the world. It isn't questioned or disbelieved, but rather an element of the natural world that some of us can tap in to. In doing so, Rubio creates a world that at once feels familiar and oddly unheimlich.
The first story 'Brujería for Beginners' immediately grabbed my attention and let me know I was in for a good time. As a community college professor walks her class through their first lessons in magic, you get your first glimpses into the magical realism and harsh reality Rubio works with. This story is also told almost entirely through direct address from the professor to her students and I loved how Rubio used this form to tell her story. 'Tijuca' tells the tale of a widow willing to go rather far to bring her late husband to his final rest, while searching for her own as well. 'Tunnels' is a beautifully complex story about a family, told through small burst of narrative, as they search for a way to survive and preserve their land and culture. 'Art Show' is abstract in a delightful way, describing the different displays at an art show put on by ... animals? 'Clap If You Believe' features a sighting of Satan, a magic aunt, and difficult mother-daughter relationships.
'Moksha' is a story of chupasangres, sister bonds, and eternal musicians. This story has a late summer, 'we are eternally young'-vibe which I adored. 'Burial' is a story of loss and growing up, with an accidental resurrected sabretooth tiger. 'Carlos Across Space and Time' is also about loss, but rather about finding the right ending, the right kind of departure, the right kind of farewell. It was oddly touching in its journey across space and time. 'Paint by Numbers' is another odd one, a very short story told through different colours which come together to paint a grim picture.
Last comes the title story, 'Maria, Maria'. This is a story of cosmological mythology, but also of sisters and mothers and daughters. Maite has to make her way across an almost post-apocalyptic California to locate her aunt, who was written a book about the Marias, after the death of her mother. Interspersed are the stories of Maria de los Santos, the First maria, and Maria del Mar. There is a magic to this last story especially, which brings home the various themes and ideas from the other stories. It truly amazed me by its scope and lyric writing.
As far as I can tell this is Marytza K. Rubio's first fully-fledged, independent, short story collection and what a way to enter the scene. Her writing overflows with imagery and real feeling, without ever getting overly emotional or dramatic. It tells the story of generational trauma, of being Othered, of trying to preserve a culture in the face of backlash. It is a collection of difficult and dark women, girls with a touch of magic, and men with heavy burdens. Maria, Maria imagines a California that is almost a jungle, a place that crosses between worlds. I don't know whether "tropigoth" is an already established term, but it felt very apt once I'd read my way through Rubio's stories. There is the gothic darkness of inherited trauma, but also the sweltering intensity of the tropics. It feels derivative to compare Rubio's writing to that of Maria Carmen Machado or Silvia Moreno Garcia, but I do believe she brings a similar talent to the table. She shares their interest in elevating the mythology of the Americas, of highlighting oppression and colonialism, of centring women who avoid easy description. I cannot wait to read more by Marytza K. Rubio in the future!
I give this collection...
5 Universes!
Maria, Maria very quickly worked its way onto my "favourite reads" list. Her stories are stunning, complex, and vividly drawn, yet are also deeply human. Her stories have summoned many images which will stay with me for a long time.
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