Focusing on the lives of Chicana women in Denver and Southern Colorado, Fajardo-Anstine's collection of short stories is absolutely phenomenal. Ranging from the tragic in "Sugar Babies," to the more heartfelt in "Remedies," each story is unforgettable; bursting with characters who feel so real you'll be shouting "I know her!" as you read. From her use of specific northside Denver dialect with words like "jito" to her descriptions of Denver areas such as Cheeseman Park and the Central Downtown Denver Library, Fajardo-Anstine's love for her hometown and state shines in each story. As a Chicana who grew up in Denver myself, there has never been another book that has so perfectly and vividly captured my life and the lives of the other women in my family--I cannot recommend this book enough; it is definitely one of my all-time favorite books. A must read of Chicana literature.Publisher description:
Kali Fajardo-Anstine's magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West. Against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado—a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite—these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force.
In "Sugar Babies," ancestry and heritage are hidden inside the earth but tend to rise during land disputes. "Any Further West" follows a sex worker and her daughter as they leave their ancestral home in southern Colorado only to find a foreign and hostile land in California. In "Tomi," a woman leaves prison and finds herself in a gentrified city that is a shadow of the one she remembers from her childhood. And in the title story, "Sabrina & Corina," a Denver family falls into a cycle of violence against women, coming together only through ritual.
Sabrina & Corina is a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.
Sabrina & Corina is a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.