In addition to the renowned,
carved and vividly painted wooden animals they produce,
some artisans carve tableaux from giant, non-edible
radishes they grow to enter in the yearly competition.
This contest occurs on the evening of December 23
and is named la Noche de Rabanos, the Night of the
Radishes. It takes place amid the vibrant Christmas
celebrations that bring the citizenry out into the
streets to revel under the stars.
Annie Rush travels to Oaxaca during this time and
her world is changed because of what she learns during
the trip in general, and on the Night of the Radishes
in particular.
HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE BOOK ORIGINATE?
For ten years, I've been writing fiction set entirely
in Latin America, focusing wholly on the Latino heritage
of my Puerto Rican mother, on the fact that, from
the time I was two until I reached high school, I
resided in Mexico and El Salvador, where the Foreign
Service had taken my father. Though I've been bilingual
from the start, during those early years, I conducted
my life for the most part in Spanish.
After writing three novels, the Midwestern heritage
of my father came knocking, asking for its turn. So,
too, did my own Midwestern experience: When I was
fourteen, I was sent to northeast Missouri, to live
with my paternal grandparents on their dairy farm
and to attend public high school. After graduation,
I went on to get a degree in education at a nearby
teacher's college. After which, I married and moved
to St Louis, where my two sons were born. Some years
later, the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
where I've lived for the past thirty years.
A few years ago, when starting my fourth novel, I
sat down at the computer and wrote in a hot flash
of inspiration what turned out to be the two-page
prologue of Night of the Radishes. I was amazed, and
a bit frightened, at what I had done. Who is this
person? I asked myself. Why this voice? This tone?
Why this subject matter? None of it was like anything
I'd written before. In fact, I found the territory
so different, that for a time I had trouble writing
more, but I pressed on. Slowly, Annie Hart Rush began
to emerge and as I got to know her, I realized that
she was calling me to write, not from my Latino self,
but from the rural and urban Midwestern self I had
set aside when I began to write.
Now I see how necessary this turn was. After almost
a dozen years, I'm reclaiming my total self: a Latin-American
woman, fortunate to have lived in and loved two cultures.
For as many years as I have left to write, I hope
to continue to dip my pen into this bilateral reality,
not being surprised nor frightened at what I find
there.
DID YOUR BOOK
INVOLVE ANY SPECIAL RESEARCH?
Stated in a nutshell, Night of the Radishes is about
twinless-twins, about depression, survivors guilt
and Mexico, as seen through the eyes of an American
woman.
Though I'm a twinless-twin myself, I nonetheless read
many books about the psychological effect of losing
one's twin, about the almost automatic guilt one feels
at being a survivor. I also read up on clinical depression,
particularly on the effects of such on the family
members of the depressed.
It was very important to me to get these psychological
aspects right. I wanted readers who might be similarly
affected to feel I knew what I was talking about.
As far as Mexico is concerned, I've been in love with
it and its people since I can
remember. In fact, Anita, my younger sister, was born
there.
I have visited Oaxaca four times for extended periods,
and twice I was in the city for the Night of the Radishes
and the Christmas celebrations. My research consisted
of taking the merriment in, visiting the carving towns
and some of the artisans' homes, as well. I found
these families very hospitable and generous in providing
me with information.
In Oaxaca, I learned to let go of my State-side ways,
to surrender to the cosmic will of Mexico, a phrase
I've used in the book as something Annie Rush must
learn to do.
Reviews
Discussion
Questions For Reading Groups
Background Information
"THE
SAVING GRACE OF STORY"
by Sandra Benítez
Significance of the Title
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