Claim Now The Falling Woman Originated By Pat Murphy Made Available In Readable Copy
is an archaeologist. Due to unusual circumstances, she left her daughter, Diane, and divorced her husband approximately fifteen years prior, Now Diane wants answers regarding the past and her own unusual circumstances, Who knows, maybe tracking her mother down on an archaeological dig may be good for both of them
A vividly descriptive narrative with mulitlaeveled mysteries winds throughout while characters search for meaning and for who they are individually and together.
Characters are diverse, authentic, flawed, and intriguing,
Overall, an intriguing read, Wonderfully written modern/historical fantasy based on Mayan mythology, One of the best I've read in recent years, “Each culture defines its idiosyncrasies and then forgets it has done so, ”
Maybe.stars. An exceptionally fine story which defies neat genre assignment, It won a Nebula Award, so I feel somewhat safe calling it fantasy, but this is a great, thoughtprovoking tale for any reader,
“One frightens oneself it is not the shadow that frightens us, ”
Published in, it argues against the proposition that women didnt write or werent recognized for writing firstclass fantasy and science fiction, In fact, all the major characters of this tale are women, The men seem included merely for verisimilitude,
“Archeologists are anthropologists who dont like people, ”
Much good information about the ancient Mayans and the field of archeology, without the clumsy data dumps so intrusive in so many novels, It also explores how mothers and daughters have extra power to drive each other crazy and/or help each other out of it, Good
job.
“Many people we call insane are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, ”
Quibble: The paragraphing is so awkward that the reader must often stop to puzzle out who is acting or speaking the actor often changes midway through paragraphs.
“The dead teach us things, ”
Quite a strange read, Interesting concepts and description of Mayan culture I won't comment about whether it's exact or not, as I don't know enough about it as of yet, seen through both the prisms of archaeology and of visions of "shadows of the past".
Interesting mother/daughter relationship, too, since Elizabeth and Diane have been estranged from years, and neither does know how to take the right steps to mend the gap.
In general, I liked how human relationships were portrayed in this novel, There is not totally right or totally wrong, and even the people who behave as assholes aren't shown as a surprise: other characters aren't stupid, they kind of expect the outcome they may and will get, and while it's somewhat bleak, at least the author dosn't come up with excuses the characters' "excuses" are feeble and shown as such.
Interesting as well was the depiction of how society reacts to "strong women", Zuhuykak was a strongwilled priestess, and her enemies deemed her as mad, Elizabeth wanted to have a life of her own, something that clashed with her husband's expectations of her, and so she was deemed as unstable, Perhaps that theme felt stronger in thesearlys, when the book was first published, but I think it still hits home todaysociety has changed, . . but not so much.
On the other hand, I felt let down by the high stakes the blurb led me to expect: more danger, more drastic choices, . . that never really took place, or not in a dramatic enough fashion as to really make me feel that Elizabeth and/or Diane was threatened, I would've liked to see something closer to a resolution when it came to the motherdaughter relationship, too, The novel's too openended, leaving room for more, when part of that "more" should've been included in it, Archaeologist Elizabeth Butler has a secret: she can see the shades of people from the past, going about their daily activities, This talent has led to plenty of “lucky hunches” in her career but also to questions about her sanity, Normally she just sees the past scenes playing out in front of her but cannot affect them in any way, But while excavating the Maya city of Dzibilchaltún, she encounters a shade who can speak to her: Zuhuykak, a priestess of the Maya moon goddess, The Maya believed that time is cyclic, and Zuhuykak sees in Liz a chance to bring certain events in her own life full circle,
At the same time, Lizs daughter Diane has come to Dzibilchaltún to see her mother, from whom she has been estranged for many years.
The two women try warily to build a relationship even as strange occurrences mount up and Liz begins to fear for Dianes safety, “You will find here only what you bring,” Liz tells us at the beginning of The Falling Woman, and Liz and Diane have brought a complex tangle of love, hatred, fear, and guilt.
Both women keep their emotional distance from the reader, though, for most of the book, This is consistent with the characters personalities and histories, and this reserve is skillfully evoked in Pat Murphys prose, Sentences are often clipped, and until late in the novel theres little internal monologue about emotions, Instead the narration focuses on gestures, dialogue, and the external sights that the women see at least until emotion breaks through the metaphorical dam at the intense climax.
The Falling Woman is an insightful novel about mother/daughter relationships and about culturally relative definitions of sanity, Another issue, that of conquest or colonialism, is not explicitly discussed yet is everpresent, The conquest of the Maya by the Toltecs loomed large in Zuhuykaks life, and in the present day, its hard to miss that the Maya still live in the area and that Maya laborers are doing most of the unsung physical work at Dzibilchaltún.
The ending is satisfactory, if slightly openended, and through my own lenses I cant help but see it as perfectly fitting, The ending Murphy wrote, to me, is the resolution of the mistake Zuhuykak really made as opposed to the mistake she thinks she made,
As I write this, itsand theres a great deal of buzz about the Maya, due to the persistent legend that the Maya calendar predicts the end of the world in.
In fact, when I walked into my workplace cafeteria to read some of The Falling Woman during lunch, a television was playing a History Channel special about the Maya.
I couldnt hear a word of it, but it provided some stunning visuals to go with my reading! In the spirit of everything coming around again, perhaps now is a good time to rediscover this thoughtprovoking book.
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