Daughter of the Mountain

By Edna Escamill

Resisting the onslaught of gringos coming to live in their southwestern border town, Bale and Maggie develop a friendship based on their common struggle. But they differ in their future possibilities: his is closed by poverty and family tragedy; hers is opened by her relationship with her Yaqui Indian grandmother, Adela Sewa. Maggie's grandmother teaches her the ways of the land and her own form of spirituality as tools for survival. Her stories, or cuentos, reach back into the nineteenth century, illuminating a way of life that has disappeared, but which can still provide hope and continuity to a displaced people.

Edna Escamill has...wrought a landmark book that will stand beyond its decade. The future gestates in these pages. The present is here in passionate immediacy. It is one of the great books of "place"--poor town, desert, mountain--recreated so vividly, every memory-sense alive. Its people...are written differently with such complexity, fullness of dimension, they become unforgettable...a book absolutely necessary to our growing national vision. -- Tillie Olsen

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879960079
• ISBN13: 9781879960077
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Aunt Lute Books
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Remarkable, unusual, powerful book

"Daughter of the Mountain" is a rare book. Its most readily apparent strength is the setting: The harsh beauty of the desert is an integral part of the characters' lives, but Escamill's descriptions aren't strained or intrusive. She also manages to address some nasty realities-poverty, racism, the death of traditional lifestyles-with grace and without overt moralizing. Many of the chapters are preceded by very short, timeless fable-type stories in Spanish (with English translations) that would make a great book in themselves, but lend a wider perspective to the events of the novel and contribute to its slightly surreal feel. Anyone who is interested in (and especially who teaches about) women's issues/literature, multicultural literature, or Native American (especially Yaqui) issues, or who is just looking for a book that will stay in his/her mind forever, should consider reading this one.