korrick 's review for:

City of Kings by Yvette E. Miller, Rosario Castellanos

3.0

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I first encountered Rosario Castellanos in 2020 in the form of [b:The Book of Lamentations|536848|The Book of Lamentations|Rosario Castellanos|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347227796l/536848._SY75_.jpg|524290], which subsequently became one of my absolute favorite books. Part of what drew me was my [b:500 Great Books by Women|1503057|500 Great Books by Women|Erica Bauermeister|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438987789l/1503057._SY75_.jpg|1494514] project, which cites this particular set of short stories. I am grateful that I first came across the novel, as that went far better with me for reasons both predictable (I am not the best with short stories) and individual (the stories are a tad too fablesque for my liking). A mere two years separate the publication of these stories from that of the novel, while nearly five years separate my reading of the latter from the former, and from where I stand, it's hard to parse whether my two star drop in rating has to do with authorial accomplishment, my feeling of disillusionment, or a little bit of both. For it was difficult to take this writing seriously while knowing of Castellanos' status as ambassador to Israel of all places, in addition to her grounding her technique in [b:The Popol Vuh|36904324|The Popol Vuh|Anonymous|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528486732l/36904324._SY75_.jpg|1922629] and then putting out such a blatant claim (or pity parade, perhaps) that the indigenous folks of her narratives are her people. Projection, I know, but I did cite [b:Almanac of the Dead|52385|Almanac of the Dead|Leslie Marmon Silko|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924233l/52385._SY75_.jpg|316915] during my review of the novel as coming from a stronger realm of authenticity, and after finishing this collection, I just don't feel the sense of a successful synthesis of themes that these works were aspiring to. Or perhaps I simply prefer polemic to allegory. In any case, Castellanos still has a bevy of works to choose from her unfortunately shortened career, and I can see myself dipping into her in the future. At this point, though, I'd really go for a solid biography more than anything else, if only to disentangle my disgruntlement from her development.