Edgardo Vega Yunqué (1936–2008)

This is a novel which the author describes as "symphonic". I think of it more as a crossword puzzle (I'm very word-oriented) where different characters or their stories cross paths and intersect in various ways -- now and in the past.

It is the story of Vidamia Farrel, who is raised by her mother (Elsa Santiago) and step-father Barry. As a teenager, she decides to find her birth-father, Billy Farrel and once she does, she enters the lives of him and his family. Billy is a Viet Nam vet suffering from his memories of the battlefield death of his friend Joey Santiago (Elsa's brother), which he blames himself for.

It's a family saga and I found myself totally lost in this story that is so huge in scope and time. Yet for all its breadth, it lacked depth. Billy Farrel, Vidamia and Elsa are complex, well-developed characters. But many of the other characters are two dimensional: Barry, the nearly perfect husband and step-father, Lurleen the perfect wife and mother. Billy's other children (Cookie, Cliff, Fawn and Caitlin) are blonde, beautiful and talented. Fawn's character gains depth in relation to a family tragedy -- more because that was necessary for the plot than because she was an important character in her own right.

For the most part, the characters are very trusting: Vidamia finds her maternal grandmother for the first time as a teenager, and Grandma Maude is only too happy to see her and accept her. As is everyone else in Billy's family. And, Vidamia's maternal grandfather (Tumba Santiago, long estranged from his family) is equally overjoyed and unquestioning when Vidamia shows up on his doorstep.

The story is interesting, and I didn't really notice any of these flaws until I was more than 3/4 through the book. There's a lot in it about jazz music and jazz legends, about race relations in the U.S. and about how you define yourself. All in all, I'm glad I spent time with Vidamia and her family.… (more)