On Reading María Amparo Escandón

Do not measure your loss by itself; if you will take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them.
Saint Basil

Hope is a waking dream.
Aristotle

I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Esperanza and Libertad: Hope and Freedom.

These are the lead characters of María Amparo Escandón’s two novels: Esperanza’s Box of Saints and González & Daughter Trucking Co.

The points of departure of both works are the tragic, heartrending losses the women experienced in their lives. Esperanza, of Esperanza’s Box of Saints, will, of course, rely on faith and hope on her quest to find her daughter—in spite of the assurances of her closest friends and relatives that the adolescent is, indeed, dead.

Libertad, of González & Daughter Trucking Co.—in an ironic use of her name—is in a Mexican prison. Her fellow inmates—as well as the readers, for that matter—know little about her. She’s shrouded in a cloak of mystery, and no one, with the exception of the warden, knows why Libertad is incarcerated. But what we soon learn is that the protagonist of Escandón’s second novel is a gifted storyteller, and that it’s through her considerable narrative talents that she will come to terms with the enormous tragedy for which she holds herself responsible.

Gloomy material, right?

What’s remarkable about Escandón’s tales is that although the circumstances her characters face are grim, she tells their stories in a lighthearted, humorous vein. In fact, several critics have used the term “hilarious” in reference to both works.

What I find true is that it’s impossible not to fall in love with Escandón’s characters: they are strong yet gentle, determined yet flexible, clever yet respectful, and supremely creative in the ways they confront their anguish.

And what’s perhaps most commendable about María Amparo Escandón’s novels is that they illustrate—and very clearly, in fact—that hope, freedom, imagination, and humor are our best assets when dealing with irreparable losses.