Leaving Tabasco

February 15, 2001
Agustini, the small village in Mexico where Delmira Ulloa comes of age in the 1960s, will be familiar to readers of such magic realist writers as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. It is a town filled with events both real and fantastical, an unsettling mixture of violence, heartache, and love. Delmira grows up in a household dominated by her strong-willed grandmother, whose nightly stories about Mexico's history and her own childhood comprise a large part of the novel. When other girls of her age and social class leave the village to marry or study abroad, Delmira becomes involved in local politics. As a result, she is forced to leave Agustini for good. Delmira spends the next 30 years in what she believes is the real world, only to discover that reality is largely in the eye of the beholder--something her grandmother could have told her. Boullosa, author of " They're Cows, We're Pigs "(Grove, 2001) and eight other novels (none of which is available in the U.S.), writes winningly of Delmira's unusual childhood.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2001
Told in memoir format, this coming-of-age work by Mexican novelist Boullosa (They're Cows, We're Pigs) tracks Delmira from childhood through late adolescence in a small town in Mexico. Delmira's memories alternate with those of her grandmother, a tyrannical household overlord who spins magical tales of witches, revivified lizards, and a woman who dissolves into urine. Grandmother always takes Delmira's mother's side in any dispute, though the mother is ineffectual and wanton. Only Uncle Gustavo, who lives the sophisticated life in Mexico City, and the local teacher take Delmira under their wing. In the end, Delmira is arrested for distributing antigovernment leaflets and is forced to flee to Europe, never to see her hometown again. This novel is full of vivid images, and the combination of realism and folkloric magical realism serves Boullosa well until Delmira returns the narrative to the present, where she relies on sighs rather than substance. Recommended for collections strong in Latin American literature.--Harold Augenbraum, Mercantile Lib. of New York

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