Saint Death

Reviewed by: Deidre Walsh - Goodall Library, Sanford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 19, 2017

Review

This is a bleak, stark, and unflinching look at life and death for two teenage boys in a Mexican town near the United States border. It is a life that invariably involves drugs, violence and poverty. Arturo is a good person. He scrapes by doing odd jobs and the occasional gambling. He manages to stay clear of the drugs and the gangs. But his childhood friend Faustino has been working for the local drug lord. Faustino has a wife and child to think of an he needs money to get them to the United States. But he "borrows" money from the drugs he sells and is unable to pay it back. He know what will happen to him if he doesn't. So Faustino begs Arturo to win the money back for him in a card game. Reluctantly he agrees. As it turns out the card game includes the vary same drug lord that the money is owed to. Ever present throughout the narrative is the voice of Saint Death (Santa Muerte). She can help you, guide you, save you. At the fateful card game Arturo thinks Santa Muerta is on his side. He is winning back the money. But things soon fall apart. The reader is helpless as Arturo careens towards a tragic fate. Mr. Sedgwick is a brilliant wordsmith. He writes in the third-person present tense. And since this is a story set in Mexico with Mexican characters, he follows the formatting of Spanish-language conventions. This may be a bit confusing for some readers at the beginning. But once you get used to it, it flows brilliantly. Interspersed throughout this heartbreaking story are various social conditions regarding NAFTA and why the poverty, drugs and violence are allowed to flourish. They have definitely impacted the characters in this story. This is a story of friendship, loyalty and the value of life. And it is set against a cruel, unforgiving and all too real backdrop. Arturo's ending is both tragic and awe-inspiring. When the card game goes horrible wrong, Arturo is offered an easy out. Join the gang and work for the drug lord. But Arturo doesn't want to be a man "who would only add more horror to the world, more pain". He sacrifices himself for his friend, for Mexico and ultimately for himself. This is a timely and relevant book. It needs to be read. A must purchase for all public and school libraries.

Overall Book Score: excellent