On the first page of this story I wrote, "poor narrative voice--stiff." And that continues.
Apparently this story was inspired by a song, "Paradise," written by Alejandro Escoveda. I can't find this song or mention of this song online.
Regardless, the narrative voice is off. It sounds as if Dorst is trying to imitate an Hispanic author. But he fails in an almost Speedy Gonzales sort of way. Because the narrative voice rings flat and basically stereotypical, the rest of the story does as well. The son is reduced to a monkey and the daughter's redemption rings false if not impossible. The entire things reads almost like a minstrel show unfortunately.
And here I thought the stories were getting better . . .
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