At the moment, I’m somewhat torn as to my opinion of Carmen Rodriguez. Possibly, because I’m such a huge Alvarez fan that no one really stands a chance in my books…. possibly because I just don’t find the emotions evoked by the work of authors such as Cisneros and Alvarez as prominent in that of Rodriguez. I definitely felt for the mother in “Black Hole” but not in the heart-wrenching, tear-your-guts-out kind of way I felt throughout Woman Hollering Creek. There’s seems to be something missing for me and I am at a loss to figure out what it is. I’m hoping that as I read on my feelings will change. What is interesting, however, is that like Leanna, I read the introduction beforehand and feel as though it may have ruined it for me. I feel like there was a lot of buildup… a lot of talk, and not enough follow through. Rodriguez sounds as though she is a little too pleased with her work, whereas it is fairly typical of authors to feel as though they’ll never quite perfect their work; that there’s always room for improvement. I wasn’t 100% on board with the whole “black whole” metaphor and found the ending unsatisfactory. I definitely wanted to know whether they moved back to Chile or not. I’m going to attempt to keep reading with an open mind. I’m sure my opinion will change! I’m looking forward to meeting Rodriguez in person. On second thought, I hope no one shows her these blogs!