Swift As Desire (Random House Large Print) - Hardcover

Esquivel, Laura

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 037543142X ISBN 13: 9780375431425

Publisher: Random House Large Print, 2001

Synopsis

1. As a child, Júbilo can hear silent words behind the words his mother and grandmother speak, and knows that these silent words represent repressed desires. He considers it his job to translate these repressed desires into a language of emotion. Are these women truly repressing their desire to get along, or is Júbilo projecting his own childish need for them to get along? Since his interpretations cause harmony, does it matter? To what extent do you consider Júbilo’s interpretations meddling? 2. How does Esquivel use the image of Júbilo and Lucha dancing to convey both the power of their love for each other and Júbilo’s sensitivity to currents of energy? Is there any significance to where the dancing scenes are placed in the narrative? 3. There is no concept that disturbs Júbilo more than a message that finds no receiver and languishes without a response. He feels guilty for every unclaimed cosmic signal and devotes his life to acknowledging as many lost messages as possible. What event from his childhood with his Mayan grandmother sparks this obsession? What comment do you think Esquivel is making about modern Mexico’s attitude toward its Mayan heritage? 4. How is Júbilo’s card game with don Pedro a watershed moment in his life? What happens during the game that causes Júbilo to lose his communication with the numbers on the cards, after being in such control? Do you think it is unethical of Júbilo to bet on the boxing championship when he already knows the results, given the objective of the whole evening? 5. How does Esquivel use the sun and rain, and their relationships to electricity, as symbols throughout the book? What is the significance of Lluvia’s nickname? Which characters have a special connection to sunlight—or sunspots—and which have a particular affinity to water? Why? 6. Discuss the significance in the novel of the following statement: “Sometimes good intentions aren’t enough to establish good contact with the cosmos.” 7. Contemplating her father’s situation, Lluvia asks herself: “What was it that my papa didn’t want to see that made him blind? What was it that he was trying to hold in so forcefully that it gave him Parkinson’s disease?” Do you think the mind-body connection is powerful enough to cause these kinds of illnesses? Where else in the novel do you see a link between mental strife and physical ramifications? 8. Do you agree with Lucha that money is necessary to oil the machinery of a happy, loving and productive life? Or with Júbilo, that possessions cause constraint, distorted thinking, and even enslavement? Is this philosophical difference at the root of their marriage’s demise? If not, what is? 9. What does Esquivel mean by “Words travel as swiftly as desire, so it is possible to send a message of love without them”? How does this assertion relate to the fifteen-year silence between Júbilo and Lucha? 10. Why doesn’t Júbilo, who can sense the subtle energy waves of every living thing and can communicate with stars, notice his son’s struggle with death right in the next room? 11. The thirteen-year-old Lucha is described as “unconquerable.” Is this title appropriate for her later in life as well? Do you think Lucha appreciates her husband’s unusual gift for translation? What do you make of her approach to dealing with don Pedro? Why do you think she puts up with his indiscretions so resolutely? Is she too harsh with Júbilo after the tragic death of Ramiro? 12. Esquivel writes, “The only things Júbilo knew how to do were communicate with people and love Lucia. He didn’t know how to do anything else, nor did he want to.” What forces get in the way of these simple goals? Why are “production, industry and technology” named as his foes? Are Júbilo’s aspirations outdated compared to

About this title

About the Author

Laura Esquivel is the award-winning author of Like Water for Chocolate, which has sold over four and a half million copies around the world in 35 languages, The Law of Love, and most recently, Between Two Fires. She lives in Mexico City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Swift as Desire

By Laura Esquivel

Random House Large Print Publishing

Copyright © 2001 Laura Esquivel
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780375431425

Chapter One

He was born happy and on a holiday. Welcomed into the world by his whole family,gathered together for the special day. They say his mother laughed so hard atone of the jokes being told around the table that her waters broke. At first shethought the dampness between her legs was urine that she had not been able tocontain because of her laughter but she soon realized that this was not thecase, that the torrent was a signal that her twelfth child was about to be born.Still laughing, she excused herself and went to her bedroom. As she had gonethrough eleven previous deliveries, this one took only a few minutes, and shegave birth to a beautiful boy who, instead of coming into the world crying,entered it laughing.

After bathing, Doña Jesusa returned to the dining room. "Look whathappened to me!" she announced to her relatives. Everyone turned to look ather, and, revealing the tiny bundle she held in her arms, she said, "Ilaughed so hard, the baby came out."

A loud burst of laughter filled the dining room and everyone enthusiasticallyapplauded the happy occasion. Her husband, Librado Chi, raised his arms andexclaimed, "Qué júbillo!"?"What joy!"

And that was what they named him. In truth, they could not have chosen a bettername. Júbilo was a worthy representative of joy, of pleasure, of joviality.Even when he became blind, many years later, he always retained his sense ofhumor. It seemed as if he had been born with a special gift for happiness. And Idon't mean simply a capacity for being happy, but also a talent for bringinghappiness to everyone around him. Wherever he went, he was accompanied by achorus of laughter. No matter how heavy the atmosphere, his arrival, as if bymagic, would always ease tension, calm moods, and cause the most pessimisticperson to see the brighter side of life, as if, above all else, he had the giftof bringing peace.

The only person with whom this gift failed him was his wife, but that isolatedcase constituted the sole exception to the rule. In general, there was no onewho could resist his charm and good humor. Even Itzel Ay, his paternalgrandmother-the woman who, after her son had married a white woman, had beenleft with a permanent frown etched on her forehead-began to smile when she sawJúbilo. She called him Che'ehunche'eh Wich, which in the Mayan languagemeans "the one with the smiling face."

The relationship between doña Jesusa and doña Itzel was far from gooduntil after Júbilo was born. Because of race. Doña Itzel was onehundred percent Mayan Indian and she disapproved of the mixing of her race'sblood with doña Jesusa's Spanish blood. For many years, she had avoidedvisiting her son's home. Her grandchildren grew up without her being veryinvolved in their lives. Her rejection of her daughter-in-law was so great thatfor years she refused to speak to her, arguing that she couldn't speak Spanish.So doña Jesusa was forced to learn Mayan in order to be able to speak withher mother-in-law. But she found it very difficult to learn a new language whileraising twelve children, so communication between the two was sparse and of poorquality.

But all that changed after Júbilo was born. As she desired with all hersoul to be near the baby, his grandmother began to visit her son's house again,which had never happened with the other grandchildren, as if she had no greatinterest in them. But from the first moment she saw Júbilo, she becamefascinated with his smiling face. Júbilo was a blessing to the family; heappeared like a gift from heaven that no one expected. A beautiful gift thatthey didn't know what to do with. The difference in age between him and theyoungest of his siblings was several years, and a few of his older brothers andsisters were already married and had children of their own. So it was almost asif Júbilo were an only child, and his playmates were his nieces andnephews, who were the same age as he. Because his mother was busy simultaneouslyfulfilling the roles of mother, wife, grandmother, mother-in-law, anddaughter-in-law, Júbilo spent a lot of time in the company of the servants,until his grandmother adopted him as her favorite grandchild. They spent most ofthe day together, taking walks, playing, talking. Of course, his grandmotherspoke to him in Mayan, which meant that Júbilo became doña Itzel'sfirst bilingual grandchild.

And so, from the age of five, the child became the family's officialinterpreter. This was a fairly complicated matter for a small child, as he hadto take into account that when doña Jesusa said the word mar, shewas referring to the sea in front of their home, where the family often swam. Onthe other hand, when doña Itzel said the word K'ak'nab, she wasn'treferring only to the sea, but also to the "lady of the sea," which isthe name given to one of the phases of the moon and is associated with largebodies of water. Both of these entities have the same name in Mayan. So, asJúbilo translated, not only did he have to be aware of these subtleties,but he also had to pay attention to his mother's and grandmother's tone ofvoice, the tension in their vocal cords, as well as the expression on theirfaces and the set of their mouths. It was a difficult task, but one whichJúbilo performed with great pleasure. Of course, he didn't always translateliterally. He always added a kind word or two to soften the exchange between thetwo women. Over time, this little trick managed to help them get along a littlebetter each day, and they eventually grew to love one another.

This experience helped Júbilo to discover the power of words for bringingpeople closer or pushing them apart, and that the important thing wasn't whatwas said, but the intention behind the communication. This sounds simple, but itis in fact very complicated. When Júbilo's grandmother gave him a messageto translate, generally the words didn't coincide with what she really wanted tosay. The tension around her mouth and vocal cords gave her away. Even to aninnocent child like Júbilo, it was obvious that his grandmother was makingan effort to swallow her words. But, as strange as it sounds, Júbilo heardthe silent words clearly, even though they had never been spoken. And heunderstood that this "voice" that remained silent was the one thattruly represented his grandmother's desires. So Júbilo, without thinkingmuch about it, frequently translated those imperceptible murmurings instead ofthe words she spoke out loud. Of course, it never crossed his mind to do this tobe naughty, just the opposite; his ultimate objective was always to reconcilethese two women, both of them so beloved and important to him, to say out loudthe magic word that neither of them ever dared to speak, the word that had to dowith repressed desires. The frequent disagreements that arose between his motherand his grandmother were a clear example of this. Júbilo had no doubt thatwhen one of them said black, she really meant white, and vice versa.

At his young age, what he didn't understand was why these two women made theirlives, and as a consequence the lives of everyone around them, so complicated,since any argument between them had repercussions on all the rest of the family.There was never a strife-free day. They always found reasons to fight. If onesaid that Indians were lazier than Spaniards, the other would say that Spaniardssmelled worse than Indians. There was no shortage of arguments, but without adoubt, the most sensitive were those that had to do with the life and customs ofdoña Jesusa. Doña Itzel had always worried that her grandchildrenwould be brought up in a lifestyle that, to her way of thinking, wasn'tappropriate for them. This had been one of the main reasons why she had avoidedcoming to the house in the past. She had wanted to avoid seeing how herdaughter-in-law was raising the grandchildren like little Spaniards, but now shewas back and was determined to save Júbilo, her favorite grandchild, fromthe loss of his cultural heritage. So he wouldn't forget his origins, she wasalways telling him Mayan stories and legends as well as accounts of the battlesthe Mayan Indians had been forced to fight to preserve their history.

The most recent was the War of the Castes, an Indian insurrection during whichapproximately twenty-five thousand Indians lost their lives, and in which as ithappened Júbilo's grandmother herself had played an important role. Inspite of the Indians' ultimate defeat, something good came out of that battle,because later her son Librado was placed in charge of one of the country'slargest exporters of henequen ? the fibers from an agave plant used formaking rope and other materials. He had then taken the unusual step of marryinga Spanish woman. Mestizaje, the mixing of races, was not as common inthe Yucatán peninsula as it was in other regions conquered by theSpaniards. During the colonial period, Spaniards had rarely spent more thantwenty-four hours at a time in the encomiendas, the large royal landgrants where the Mayans worked as laborers. They didn't mix with the Indians andwhen they married they did so in Cuba, with Spanish women, never with Indians.So the marriage of a Mayan Indian man to a Spanish woman was highly unusual. Butfor doña Itzel this union represented a danger more than something to beproud of. And the proof lay in the fact that none of her grandchildren, exceptJúbilo, spoke Mayan, and that they preferred to drink hot chocolate madewith milk instead of water. For anyone else, it would be amusing to hear theheated discussions these two women held in the kitchen, but not for Júbilo,because he had to translate for them. On these occasions he had to be even moreattentive than usual, because he knew anything they said could easily beinterpreted as a declaration of war.

One day the air in the kitchen was particularly heated. A couple of hurtfulmessages had already been hurled across the room, making Júbilo feel veryuncomfortable, especially because the unhappiness his grandmother's words causedhis mother was obvious. Most unbelievable, though, was that neither woman wasreally fighting about how to make hot chocolate. That was just a pretext. Whatdoña Itzel was really saying was: "Look, niña, for yourinformation, my forefathers built monumental pyramids, observatories, and sacredtemples, and they knew about astronomy and mathematics way before your people,so don't you come trying to teach me anything, especially not how to make hotchocolate."

And doña Jesusa, who had a sharp tongue, had to repress the urge tocounter: "Look, woman, you are used to looking down on anyone who is not ofyour race, because the Mayans are so great and so wonderful, but they areseparatists by nature and I'm not about to put up with that kind ofsnobbishness. If you disdain me so much, then don't come to my houseanymore."

Finally the situation grew so tense, and each woman was defending her point ofview with such passion, that Júbilo began to fear something terrible wouldhappen. So when his mother, summoning up her courage, said: "Son, tell yourabuela that I don't allow anyone to come into my house to tell me how to dothings, because I don't take orders from anyone, especially not from her!,"Júbilo had no choice but to translate: "Abuela, my mamá says thatwe don't take orders in this house . . . well, except from you."

Upon hearing these words, doña Itzel changed her attitude completely. Forthe first time in her life, she felt her daughter-in-law had acknowledged herrightful position. Doña Jesusa, on the other hand, was taken bysurprise. She never imagined her mother-in-law would react to such strongaggression with a peaceful smile. After the initial shock she too responded witha smile and, for the first time since her marriage, she felt accepted by hermother-in-law. With just a simple change of meaning, Júbilo had been ableto give each of them what they had been seeking: to feel appreciated.

From that day on, doña Itzel, convinced her orders were now being followedto the last letter, stopped interfering in the kitchen; and doña Jesusa,confident that her mother-in-law finally accepted her way of life, was able toapproach her suegra, her mother-in-law, affectionately. The whole familyreturned to normal thanks to Júbilo's mediation, and he in turn feltcompletely satisfied. He had discovered the power of words and, having acted ashis family's translator since his early childhood, it wasn't too surprising thatinstead of wanting to be a fireman or a policeman, he expressed the desire tobecome a telegraph operator when he grew up.

Continues...

Excerpted from Swift as Desireby Laura Esquivel Copyright © 2001 by Laura Esquivel. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Large Print
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 037543142X
• ISBN 13: 9780375431425
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 317