I think that each author has an interesting description for their ambiguous hybrid position. Alvarez embeds the motion of a yoyo in one of Yolanda’s names and Rodriguez describes the “moving back and forth” as “teeter-totter” in her foreword. As I read Black Hole, I noticed that the conversations were one sided. Estela’s letter to her mother has no response and only one voice can be heard in the phone conversations. The voice of the other person is embedded with what the other one decides to repeat.
My eyes widened when she used the identifiably Canadian pragmatic marker “eh”, spelled “color” with a “u” and mentions Vancouver landmarks such as Stanley Park, City Hall, the seawall at Burrard, etc. I was enjoying reading about the landscape I live in. And I found myself relating to Estela’s dreams. She dreamt of Vancouver landmarks within the Chilean geography. I would often dream of being inside our Manila house here in Vancouver. It was almost as if there was no clear dividing line between the two countries and I would wake up confused, wondering where I was for the first few minutes. I guess my position too is ambiguous even though I am not an immigrant, being sent to Vancouver to study.
The way Rodriguez wrote is more direct and less descriptive than Alvarez’s style. I find it to be effective in the first person narrative. I am finding it difficult to put the book down!