Phil J's Reviews> Lucky Broken Girl

"When we lived in Cuba, I was smart. But when we got to Queens, in New York City, in the United States of America, I became dumb, just because I couldn't speak English."

With these brilliant first lines, Ruth Behar launches into a narrative that starts strong, collapses into a tangled mess, and ends as a puddle of sugary goo.

The beginning portion set up some great dynamics: her frustrations at school, her mysterious friends Ramu and Danielle, her grief over Cuba, and her family dynamics. Next, the disaster occurs and the reader is compelled onward to see how their beloved protagonist will survive.

*Spoilers

In her author's note, Behar describes her memories of her own body cast experience as a "kaleidoscope of vignettes." That perfectly sums up the middle portion of the book. Fascinating ideas are introduced but not adequately developed: Ruthie's religious awakening; drawing strength from personal relationships, and feeling the grieving process for her injury. What impediments do these developments have? How is Ruthie changing? How do these elements affect each other? It's not clear; events just sort of drift by, and Ruthie becomes gradually flatter. The most disappointing part was the sense of family dynamics. I felt like I knew her family better on page 30 than I did on page 230.

In the end, Ruthie learns to walk. That's it. There's a reference to feeling a blessing fall on her, but she doesn't seem substantially changed. The religious themes are not resolved. Ruthie gains some confidence, but not in a terribly convincing way. Her personal relationships grow, but how do they change her? To what extend has she emotionally recovered, and to what extent will she continue to struggle?

When I reached the last page, I involuntarily yelled, "Barf!" at the sappy ending. In the author's afterward, Behar mentions that the reality was less of a "fairy tale" than the book. I wish Behar had given us more truth and less fairy tale.