So Far from God

During Caridad’s absence, doña Felicia rents out her trailer to a young couple with a baby on the way. More and more family memberstake up residence in the trailer, until there are six adults, five children, and a dog. The family gradually stops paying rent and, after six months, leaves the trailer in the middle of the night and steals all of Caridad’s remaining possessions.

Caridad returns to the trailer after a year, and doña Felicia welcomes her. Caridad’s powers have increased, and “Eventually word got around and Caridad earned herself a respectable reputation as a medium if not as a miracle worker” (119). Caridad now has the power to hear a client’s problem, allow herself to dream about them, and then provide accurate answers or solutions.

We step away from the main characters and instead focus on two women in a relationship: Maria, a tarot card reader and social worker; and Helena, a landscaper. The two women head from their home in California to the city of Truchas, New Mexico, which is Maria’s, “true native homeland” (123), andwhere her ancestors have been buried. Though they were once in love, at this point in time, Maria and Helena’s affections have diminished.