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Devil
Talk: Stories, Daniel A. Olivas. Tempe, Arizona: Bilingual Press, 2004. Paperback, $13.00 ISBN 1-931010-27-7
The devil is a woman. Daniel Olivas’ narrators in Devil Talk move through
ordinary lives marked by temptation, desire, and love, and toward a
little Hell on Earth in the form of La Diabla. Whether the transgression
is littering, greed or murder, there’s a price to pay. Steeped in Chicano
and Mexican culture, the language, clear and tantalizing, lead us through
supernatural landmines and human folly with witty dark humor. The classic
battle of good vs. evil is complicated in Devil Talk, where good and
evil overlap and tables are turned and turned again. The stories
evoke timelessness, like La Guaca, a twist on the classic Cinderella
tale with the wealthy bridegroom’s trial for his potential brides a
more deadly feat than trying on a glass slipper. Many combine folklore
with popular culture, like Don de la Cruz and the Devil of Malibu which
begins by telling us that El Diablo is really the sexually insatiable
La Diabla and that this isn’t the Malibu of Johnny Carson, Olivia Newton
John or Gigit. Also, The Plumed Serpent of Los Angeles, where Aztec
gods go toe to toe with La Diabla by sending Quetzlcoatl to Malibu to
seduce her. As a collection, though not every story is steeped in mythos
or the supernatural, the timeless and spectral La Diabla, slips in the
narrative through word or deed. She is an unforgettable presence in
legendary form, bewitching both narrator and reader. -Donna
Epler |
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