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BOOK REVIEW: Searching for Maya by Heather Rath
REVIEWED BY CHARLINE POIRIER
Searching for Maya is the story of Mary Jane, MJ, a woman in her early 40s, escaping a life of abuse and determined to find Maya, the girl she gave up for adoption nearly 20 years before.
Through research at the local library where she works, MJ discovers that the birthmark she remembers seeing on her infant-daughter’s lower back as she held her after birth, happens to be a common birthmark among the Mayan people of the Yucatán Peninsula. It occurs to MJ that Father Martin Garcia, the man who raped her, could be Mexican. Serendipitously, a colleague informs MJ that a project to promote the Mayan culture in a library in Merida needs staff. MJ doesn’t hesitate to act on a belief that her involvement with the project could get her closer to her daughter.
“Once she made that connection [the birthmark], MJ convinced herself Maya would follow a spiritual path to study, or live, among the Maya. So certain was this feeling in her bones, she decided if she couldn’t find her daughter in Canada, she had every reason to believe Maya might already be in Maya Mexico.”
Turning away from her life in Brighton, Ontario, where she lives with Tommy, she embarks on a journey to Mexico to fill what she refers to as “a baby hole in my heart”. She enlists Alex, her high-school sweetheart –– who is still madly in love with her –– to come with her. Alex immediately abandons his dream of opening his own clothing store in Brighton and accepts to drive her. Meanwhile, Tommy, suspecting that MJ has a lover, follows her to Alex’s apartment. The two men struggle. To protect Alex, MJ hits Tommy on the head with a poker. Alex and MJ jump in their car, leaving Tommy for dead, and race across the US border towards Mexico.
The book follows the four main characters, MJ, Tommy, Alex, and Maya through their ambitions, love interests, and passions. Rath explores the events through each’s point of view, and chapters written in their voices allow readers to access the intricacies of their lives, their feelings of longing, their struggles, and their hopes.
Searching for Maya does not strictly follow the canons of romance or mystery, although it contains some of their elements. The novel feels more like modern adult fairy tales that put in motion characters that strive for a better life. On their quests, they encounter helpers and villains. For example, MJ has no solid evidence that her daughter is in Merida when she begins her journey, she has a hunch rather than a plan but coincidences end up guiding her to her daughter’s resort. Similarly, the other actors in MJ’s life will converge in Merida through their own unexpected and unexpectable circuits. Instead of relying on tension and increasing its intensity towards a climax, the author uses destiny to move the plot forward. Similarly, one finds few of the trials and errors, challenges, failures and victories, usually associated with suspense.
Some readers might think that the coincidences are expedient –– for instance, knowing that MJ is in Mexico, Tommy who, upon waking up in the hospital, swore he would get MJ back, arrives in Merida, goes to a small tequila for lunch where he happens to meet the woman who will be working with MJ on the Mayan project. Right away he obtains all the information he needs to find MJ.
Tommy, himself, is taken aback by these coincidences:
“Can you believe our luck?! Actually, it makes me shiver with delight! The gods are shining on me. Of all the places in all of Mexico we turn up in the right city and stumble, practically fall, into the lap of the lady who’s expecting MJ. Like wow!”
Rath’s writing can be compelling. For instance, the opening scene, in which the intimate moments between Father Garcia and MJ are recounted, is both immersive and troubling. Such scenes showcase Rath’s skills and promise complex characters; however, the latter remains underdeveloped. One only wishes there had been more such passages.
Charline’s writing career has encompassed various roles. She has contributed book reviews to The Blue Nib, served as an associate editor for Brilliant Flash Fiction, and currently, holds a position of priority editor for Flash Fiction Magazine. Her stories range from crime to literary fiction. Her work can be found in Scarlet Leaf Review, Freedom Fiction, CommuterLit, Change Seven, Flash Fiction Magazine, Brilliant Flash Fiction. “Riding the Waves,” received a nomination for a Pushcart in 2021. Her collection of short stories, Mysteries and Bad Behaviors, has been published in 2021. She is currently working on completing her first novel. Charline is a London, Ontario-based writer.
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