海角大神

In the opening story of acclaimed writer Manuel Mu帽oz鈥檚 latest collection, Delfina, a young mother new to her neighborhood, muses 鈥渢hat strangers only introduced themselves when they needed something.鈥� The needs in 鈥淭he Consequences鈥� are great: Characters old and young, legal and unauthorized, gay and straight long for not just the basics 鈥� money, work, a helping hand 鈥� but also acceptance, independence, release. Set in the modest farming towns of California and Texas, the stories evoke the uneasy 鈥渋nbetweenness鈥� of lives that cross borders, as well as the power of small kindnesses amid daily struggles and doubts.

Mu帽oz describes himself as 鈥渋n love with cuentos鈥� (stories). It鈥檚 an affection that infuses聽his work 鈥� and one borne out by accolades. His 2007 collection, 鈥淭he Faith Healer of Olive Avenue,鈥� was shortlisted for the Frank O鈥機onnor International Short Story Award; he鈥檚 also earned three O. Henry Awards and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

A native of Dinuba, California, Mu帽oz writes with care and specificity about Mexican Americans living in and around Fresno and Visalia, as well as the Texas towns beyond San Antonio. Take Delfina, the young mother featured in 鈥淎nyone Can Do It.鈥� Approached by a neighbor with a moneymaking proposition after the local men fail to return from the fields, she weighs multiple needs: scrape together rent money, care for her little boy, and, equally urgent, disrupt 鈥渢he lull of normalcy ... just when she was on the brink of doing something truly on her own.鈥� Her decision and its dismaying result unspool with both inevitability and surprise.

In 鈥淭he Happiest Girl in the Whole USA,鈥� narrator Griselda, resigned yet resolute, takes the bus from Fresno to Los Angeles to bring home her deported partner, Timoteo. 鈥淚t takes money to get a man back from the border,鈥� she notes, 鈥渕ore money than most might think.鈥� Along the way, Griselda meets Natalia, recently arrived from Mexico and new to the deportation dance. Initially reluctant to help, Griselda takes the woman under her wing. It鈥檚 an initiation of sorts into the circle of women who鈥檝e hitched themselves to vulnerable men who will need their support again and again.

鈥淧resumido鈥� introduces Juan and Daryl, a couple stressed and tested by class and personality differences (tensions made worse by Juan鈥檚 increased drinking and social withdrawal), while 鈥淪usto鈥� follows a lonely foreman who finds the body of a farmer in a field, 鈥渓eather shoes worn and woeful at the soles.鈥� It鈥檚 a haunted 鈥� and haunting 鈥� tale.聽

Throughout the collection, Mu帽oz鈥檚 writing quietly dazzles with its unforced, patient, and lyrical lines. His choice to weave several characters into multiple stories proves effective; the tactic builds a backstory and empathy.

Whether describing a high school-aged new mother, a gay teen鈥檚 escape from his family, or a man 鈥渁s bored with his life as his mother was lonely with hers,鈥� Mu帽oz shapes characters at odds with their surroundings, grappling with the choices they鈥檝e made. These choices aren鈥檛 easy to confront; in some cases, they鈥檙e reprehensible 鈥� selfish, crass, debauched. But in the stories he tells, each individual receives the gift of consideration: These are lives as deserving of attention and grace as any other.聽