Book Review – Into the Beautiful North
Luis Alberto Urrea’s Dual Portrait of Mexico and America
Oct 8, 2009 Michelle Bailat-Jones
The heroine of Urrea’s distinctive novel, Into the Beautiful North, is nineteen year-old Nayeli, beautiful and full of life, tenderhearted and courageous. Accompanied by a band of formidable helpmates, Nayeli embarks on a journey to save her town and find her father. Their quest takes the reader from Sinoloa, Mexico to Kankakee, Illinois and paints an illuminating portrait of America from an outsider’s point of view.
Into the Beautiful North is a Novel About a Quest
The novel begins in the fictional Mexican town of Tres Camarones where the men have all vanished north to the United States to find work. This exodus has left the town in danger, threatened by drug dealers and other traveling criminals. After a showing of the classic film The Magnificent Seven at the local cinema one evening, Nayeli decides to head north herself in search of seven men, warriors or soldiers, who will rescue and revive her barren town.
Although well-endowed with a rich cast of quirky, unforgettable characters, the story of Into the Beautiful North truly belongs to Nayeli. Idealistic as it is, she believes in her quest with an unwavering optimism. She leads her friends through a series of difficult or downright dangerous situations, from hopping the border fence in Tijuana to fighting thugs in San Diego.
Nayeli’s Dual Journey and the Broad Emotional Spectrum of Into the Beautiful North
Not only does Nayeli propose to save her town, but her quest takes on a distinctly personal nature when she decides to go further than California to seek her father. He left with the other men several years ago and all she has to remember him by is a fading postcard, stamped from Kankakee, Illinois. Although the majority of the book follows Nayeli and the entire cast of her friends in their search for “soldiers”, the novel’s more serious heart follows Nayeli to Illinois.
The emotional spectrum in Into the Beautiful North is broad, ranging from farcical comedy to a series of quite serious and touching situations. Urrea blends these opposing elements in his novel with great skill, using Nayeli’s coming-of-age story as a solemn backdrop to an otherwise considerable amount of clever humor.
Truly Unforgettable Characters in Into the Beautiful North
One of the more impressive aspects of Urrea’s novel is its incredible cast of outspoken and lively characters. From Aunt Irma, the spirited and cantankerous new mayor of Tres Camarones to Tacho, the town’s only homosexual and owner of the local café to Agent Arnold Davis, who catches the intrepid crew on their first attempt to cross the border. The diverse and vivid personalities roaming about the pages of Into the Beautiful North merge perfectly with the novel’s back-and-forth movement from serious to comedy.
Truly accomplished realist fiction creates a credible universe yet asks the reader to embark on a journey into unfamiliar territory. Into the Beautiful North skillfully blends the familiar with a healthy dose of outrageous invention to create a modern-day fairytale with a serious and powerful heart.
Into the Beautiful North, Little Brown and Co., 2009, 342 p.
ISBN: 978-0-316-02527-0
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