Judith Ortiz Cofer.
The Line of the Sun.Magic realism abounds in Ortiz Cofer's memorable tale of Guzman in his lifetime travels between Puerto Rico and the United States. Guzman symbolizes "the outsider," not only in his adopted state, New Jersey, but also in his family while growing up in Puerto Rico. As a matter of fact, Ortiz Cofer sets up a plot where oppositional forces, or polarities, drive characters and settings. As a youth, Guzman does not seem to be able to do anything to please Mama Cielo, his mother, especially when he takes up with Rosa, the village prostitute. Rosa lives in her passions and not in Catholic dogma, as does Mama Cielo. Guzman eventually makes his way to America's northeast, the land of endless opportunity to most Puerto Ricans. Guzman's spiritual center, raised and supported in rural mysticism, sharply bangs up against New York's gritty and mean-spirited existence. In a style that often resembles stream-of-consciousness writing, Line tells of innocence born, lost, and regained. Guzman's story, in the end, becomes Marisol's story. His niece, the narrator all along, comes to understand and appreciate the two drastically different cultures of her family and her society. The plot's twists, probably too difficult for middle-school student, make Line a wonderful choice for high school and college English students. By Natosi, high school/college English instructor.
