Book Talk

by Barbara Kowal

In Wallace Dorian's intriguing first novella, "Desert Rain," he takes his heroine Cynthia Ryan into a heart of darkness. But unlike Joseph Conrad's famous classic, Cynthia's journey takes her into the American Southwest, as she makes a film of the Kachina cult and the Hopi people, their lore and their prophesies.

"Desert Rain" tackles the age-old dilemma of death, loss, redemption and sacrifice in innovative ways. Using the formula of the journey, Mr. Dorian brings a kind of epic or mythic scope to this contemporary western steeped in Americana while at the same time sharing with us a haunting, somewhat apocalyptic vision of the future that ends on an optimistic note.

The story, a human drama to be sure, tells the plight of womanhood and the ironic coincidences in our lives that intersect on the road of life. In that sense, "Desert Rain" turns out to be a "road story" disguised as a fable, or an ode to all our lives that is at once temporary but not trivial.

Interwoven within the novella itself is a very fine thread that also takes in the ancient lore of the mystical Hopi Indians and the spirituality of the Kachina cult. While not a story about the Hopi per se, the metaphor of the plight of the Native Americans cannot be overlooked.

Events are seen through the weary eyes of Cynthia, an Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker making a comeback after the tragic suicide of her teenage son, Steven. The story is also told in part by Mary, a half-Hopi coming-of-age eighteen-year-old who has not seen her father in nine years. Mary represents not only her culture, but also a generation seeking its own identity in a world that has become more technologically complicated and fraught with anxiety and an uncertain future.

Into the midst of all this comes Mary's estranged father, Jack Carlson, a mysterious rodeo cowboy drifter who is coming to meet his daughter. It is through Jack, a kind of guardian angel who seems to appear from nowhere, that Cynthia comes to grips with the demons that haunt her as she tries to fulfill the destiny which in the end takes her very life.

This ending is a haunting climax, but one that uplifts the reader with the idea of re-birth and hope for the future on a collective level.

"Desert Rain" is a very brisk read that's short and sweet. It is currently available in ebook format at www.wormebooks.com or through the author's website at http://www.playsthething.homestead.com/desertrain.html8. I strongly recommend reading it.

The Author

Barbara Kowal is a book reviewer living in Colorado.

Swedish Cakes and Cookies Contest!

Thanks to everyone who sent in an entry to the drawing for this great little cookbook! Jana Johnson's name was drawn, and she can look forward to receiving her copy in the mail soon!