It was the late dictator Porfirio Diaz who once enunciated the great theme of 20th Century Mexican literature: "Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States!" To an extent That few Norteamericanos realize, the interpenetration of Mexico and the United States in a strange kind of yin-yang embrace is also becoming a major fact of life on both sides of the border. Living as I do in Los Angeles, a city that is soon to become one of the major Hispanic cities of the world, I see it happen on a daily basis. The late Carlos Fuentes wrote The Crystal Frontier: A Novel in Nine Stories in 1995, but it is still remarkably current -- except for the prevalence narcotraficantes along the border today. In each of the nine stories, there is a pendulum swinging between the north and the south, with some characters going back and forth across the border. My favorite of the stories, "Spoils," is seen from the point of view of Dionisio "Baco" Rangel, a Mexican epicure who savagely attacks gringo food and, most especially, the women:Forty million persons in the United States were obese, more than in any other country in gthe world. Fat -- seriously fat -- people: pink masses, souls lost under rolls and rolls of flesh, to the point of rendering characteristics like eys, noses, mouths, even their sexes ephemeral. Dionisio watched a 350-pound woman pass by and wondered where her vein of pleasure might be. How, among the multiple slabs along her thighs and buttocks, would you get to the sanctum sanctorum of her libido? Would her male counterpart dare ask, Honey, could you just fart so I can get my bearings here?And then the food:In each potbelly that went by Dionisio suspected the presence of millions of paper and cellophane bags zealously safeguarding, in the void the precedes the flood, hundreds of millions of french fries, tons of popcorn, sugar cakes frosted with nuts and chocolate, audible cereals, mountains of tricolored ice cream crowned with peanuts and hot caramel sauce, hamburgers of toughened dog meat, thin as shoe soles, served between tombstones of greasy, insipid, inflated bread, the national American host, smeared with ketchup (This is my blood) and loaded with calories (This is my body).Some of the stories are better than others. Perhaps he is least successful with his occasional poetic monologues, but even these have some interest. There are a few characters that appear in multiple stories, especially the rich cabrón Don Leonardo Barroso and his much younger daughter-in-law (and mistress) Michelina Laborde. In these stories, he runs the gamut from captains of industry like Barroso to single mothers who work for the maquiladores along the border to racist U.S. Border Patrol officers. At his best, as in "Spoils" or "Les Amigas," he is very good indeed. It is always enlightening, however, to read a book that shows what other people think of us, especially when they are as articulate as Carlos Fuentes was. I shall miss him.
The subtitle to THE CRYSTAL FRONTIER defines the book as a "Novel in Nine Stories". Is it a novel at all? Not really, I find. The connections between the stories themselves are tenuous or indirect at best. However, seen as a whole, they present a critical perspective on Mexican society and its complex relations to its northern neighbour. The "crystal frontier" is both real and in the minds of the protagonists. Indeed, it may be useful for the reader to take Fuentes' book as a collection of short stories and ponder the recurrent underlying themes. As a short story collection it is interesting, with some stories more engaging and even moving than others and some characters eventually reappearing briefly. While some stories appear to be ending in limbo and others more or less abruptly and tragically, taken together they form a portrait of the complicated, often fractious relations between Mexico and the United States, especially in the border region. For us to move beyond the obvious depictions of cross-border conflicts or the plight of immigrant (legal and illegal) workers in the US, it helps to be familiar with Mexican history and politics. Fuentes drops many references to historical events, cultural figures, etc. While most protagonists are from the poorer sectors of society, there are those, like Don Leonardo Barroso, who benefit greatly from US-Mexican border deals and play important political and business roles on both sides of the "frontier". Don Leonardo appears in the first of the story as a central figure and in most others he is a minor, yet powerful, background presence pulling strings... Carlos Fuentes is widely respected as one of the primary writers of Mexico. His writing style here can be detached, matter of fact, or, in some stories animated, emotive and even lyrical. In general, he captures atmosphere and settings very vividly and convincingly. Still, his recognizable political and social agenda and perspective are noticeable and ever present in the stories. In some they can overshadow the content, character depictions and plot lines, and make outcomes predictable. For me one of the most engaging stories was PAIN that follows Juan Zamora to the US to study medicine thanks to financial support of none other than Don Leonardo. One scene exemplifies the subtle beauty of some of Fuentes' writing in CRYSTAL FRONTIER: "Instinctively, passionately, he [Juan Zamora ] turns his face towards us, he brings it close to the lips of the other, they join in a liberating, complete kiss that washes away all his insecurities, all his solitude, all his pain and shame. The two […] kiss in order to conquer death, if not for all time, then at least for this moment." Another favourite of mine is LAS AMIGAS, a story of old Miss Amy Dunbar and her learning to appreciate the persons looking after her.
What do You think about The Crystal Frontier (1998)?
I'm certain that Paul Haggis read this book before making his movie Crash. The book is 9 stories with interlocking characters culture- clashing to a crashing culmination. The Crystal Frontier being the U.S. Mexican border, all of the characters are simultaneously cartoon character exaggerated stereotypes and just like someone you actually know. The glassy surface message seems to be that everyone is a racist, put forth in a less than subtle manner. Preachy. Tell us something we don't know. Nevertheless, any gringos interested in the immigration issue should read this book for a new perspective.My favorite story is about a Mexican food-historian/gourmand. The man could be a food snob from any culture. Written in the style of Garcia Marquez' magical realism, it is quite touching and amusing, especially when the characters reappear at the end. I also like the one about the awful old gringa and her maid. Boy, do I know that lady! For good or for ill, whenever we touch, we are both changed.
—LorCon
Despite being the most difficult book I've read to date in Spanish -- not only because of the vocabulary, but because of all the "mexicanismos" Fuentes uses, this is one of the most captivating and authentic books I've read about the symbiotic, and unbalanced, relationship between the United States and Mexico.A novel told in nine chapters, each an independent story, Fuentes traverses the entire cultural geography the two countries share, from the uber-rich of the Mexican upper class to working stiffs of the U.S. Border Patrol, with the Mexican laborers caught in between -- on both sides of the border.Fuentes extols and castigates throughout, celebrating the entrepreneurial core of the American (U.S.) spirit while also displaying its racism and condescension toward the Mexicans who work the fields and clean the toilets in "el norte, and flaying open the corruption and cronyism of Mexican oligarchy while romanticizing the simple traditions of Mexican family, food and honor.Through it all, Fuentes unfolds the stories rapidly, leaping from the quick dialog of women workers in the maquiladoras to lengthy, unbroken paragraphs of fury (rabia) in which he indicts both the gringos and mexicanos for their crimes against each other and against themselves.I haven't read the English version of La Frontera de Cristal, so I cannot say whether the translation captures Fuentes' sentiments well, but I recommend the Spanish original for anyone looking for core-level understanding of the complicated dependency between the U.S. and Mexico.
—Tim Porter
This very well may be a five star book. However, I feel like even though I enjoyed this book immensely, Fuentes might have even better out there. I pretty much read this entire book in one today.The Crystal Frontier is a series of vignettes revolving around the U.S./Mexico border that in the end has touched on almost every imaginable issue of contention associated-immigration, race, free trade, colonization and of course; class. Even if this issue isn't of particular interest to the reader, Fuentes' dark and imaginative writing is enough to keep one turning pages. Fucking inspiring. It also personally touches on a reoccurring and prominent aspect of my life having grown up so close to the border. Best assigned book of the quarter...easily.p.s. dont get this edition of the book. Serious printing flaws...but do read it!
—Saxon
