A Man of His Village

Tanyo Ravicz,
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 0595397026
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (9/06)

The cyclical seasons of harvest, the economy of his village and the un-avenged murder of his father provided the impetus for fifteen year old Florentino Cruz to leave his village. He left behind his teenage lover, his twin sister, and his mother as he and a friend joined thousands of other Mixtec Indians who were now migrant farm workers in Northern Mexico and Southern California. 

The underlying theme of this novel is the plight of the migrant farm workers who cross the border from Mexico to the United States illegally to find work picking strawberries, tomatoes, other fruit, and vegetables at below minimum wage, sometimes unpaid by the rich farmers who exploit them. They then return to their village after the harvest season to support their families. 

Adding to this complex issue is an economy that allows a rich storekeeper to control the flow of goods in and out of the village.  The author masterfully describes Florentino’s feelings: “Florentino now tasted the bitterness other villagers had complained of for years. Zaragoza, who owned the only pickup truck in San Felipe…not only controlled the trade in and out of the village, and asked exorbitant prices for the goods…but turned around and loaned his money at staggering rates of interest.”

Florentino’s odyssey takes him San Felipe in Southern Mexico to Alaska, by way of the harvest fields of California’s central valley, Oregon, and Washington, but in his heart he remains a man of his village.  He dreams of returning with earnings enough to support his family, build a fountain in the village, and be accepted as an important man.

After being beaten and robbed in Washington State, Florentino fled to Seattle.  Here he joined a team heading for Alaska to follow rumors of a getting rich quickly by harvesting gourmet wild morel mushrooms. While setting up camp in the Alaskan wilderness, Florentino discovered a field abundant with the prized wild morel mushrooms.  After three days of picking the supply ran out and became even scarcer as they moved further from the camp.

As boredom, the smell of rotting ash, results of an earlier forest fire, and swarms of mosquitoes plagued the crew, their heightened nerves, greed and distrust, lead to insubordination and murder within the group. To save his life Florentino escaped on foot through the desolate wilderness, ultimately to return to his village.

Florentino’s is a story of pride, perseverance, and guilt as he grapples with unresolved relationships, self esteem, cultural issues, and religious convictions.

Ravicz has done a masterful job of bringing face and personality to a volatile political issue his writing is riveting and genuine.  Florentino’s penetrating story has left an indelible mark on my thinking and given me a passion to better understand his cause.

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