The Ghost of Milagro Creek

Download or read book The Ghost of Milagro Creek written by Melanie Sumner and published by Algonquin Books. This book was released on 2010-07-06 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Devastating . . . [Ghost of Milagro Creek] simmers with metaphysical tension."—Time Out Chicago The story of Ignacia Vigil Romero, a full Jacarilla Apache, and the two boys, Mister and Tomás, she raised to adulthood unfolds in a barrio of Taos, New Mexico—a mixed community of Native Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Now deceased, Ignacia, a curandera—a medicine woman, though some say a witch—begins this tale of star-crossed lovers. Mister and Tomás, best friends until their late teens, both fall for Rocky, a gringa of some mystery, a girl Tomás takes for himself. But in a moment of despair, a pledge between the young men leads to murder. When Ignacia falls silent, police reports, witness statements, and caseworker interviews draw an electrifying portrait of a troubled community and of the vulnerable players in this mounting tragedy. Set in a terrain that becomes a character in its own right, The Ghost of Milagro Creek brilliantly illuminates this hidden corner of American society.