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The Last Lords of Palenque: The Lacandon Mayas of the Mexican Rain Forest by Victor Perera, Robert D. Bruce (review)
- Western American Literature
- The Western Literature Association
- Volume 18, Number 3, Fall 1983
- pp. 263-264
- 10.1353/wal.1983.0034
- Review
- Additional Information
Reviews 263 to the two events. Mixed with the vivid pictures of these events are passages that read almost like a dry history text. I frequently lost interest, skimmed over scenes, and often forced myself to continue reading. This reaction was a result not only of the over-abundance of detail but of weak craftsmanship. It seemed to me as I read that the author’s concern for fact took precedence over his concern for the novel as novel. The result is that despite some fine, almost poetic, passages and generally good writing, the novel lacks structure. Thus no theme emerges and the two protagonists have no opportunity for growth. Johnston seems content to show, as closely as possible to historical fact, the kind ofmen these trappers were and the kind of lives they led. Neither Titus nor Josiah comes close to being a Boone Caudill or a Sam Minard. For me, the most fully developed character is a minor one, the chief of the Crow tribe with whom the two trappers plan to spend the winter. This is Johnston’s first novel. He is already at work on the second of the three that will span the years from 1831 to 1840. With his knowledge of the period, with his enthusiasm for the West, and with his determination to write the most authentic novels presenting the unique life of the mountain men, he should — and I sincerely hope will — give as much attention to the craft of writing as to the authenticity of his details in his next two novels. BEATRICE K. MORTON Darby, Montana The Last Lords of Palenque: The Lacandon .Mayas of the Mexican Rain Forest. By Victor Perera and Robert D. Bruce. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982. 311 pages, $17.95.) Living in the mountainous rain forest of Chiapas, Mexico, close to the Guatemalan border, are small groups of Lacandon Indians, whose worldwide reputation is in radical disproportion to their numbers — about 400. The reasons for their fame? They are the only descendants of the ancient Maya who have not been Westernized. Until very recently, they lived a relatively isolated existence, speaking the “classic” Maya of Yucatan and preserving a traditional, autonomous culture which is tenuously linked to the great Mayan cities like Palenque. Although the title of the book, The Last Lords of Palenque, is certainly meant as a tribute, it also points to a poignant gulf between the complex, advanced culture that built Palenque and the vulnerable, subsistence condi tions of the Lacandones. Nevertheless, they warrant our attention because they possess an unusual quality of spirit or soul which allows them to feel at home in the world, to belong. It is best articulated by the holistic vision of a remarkable Lacandon sage, Chan K’in: What the people of the city do not realize ... is that the roots of all living things are tied together. When a mighty tree is felled, a star falls from the sky. . .. Hachakyum made the trees, and he also made 264 Western American Literature the stars, and he made them from the same sand and clay, ashes and lime. As the real hero of this book, Chan K’in is a grand repository of cosmological lore and common sense. Recently, however, the Lacandon way of lifehasbeen seriously threatened by outside interests who want to log their mahogany and drill for gas and oil. Evangelists want to save their souls. Perera and Bruce want to stem the tide of exploitation and help preserve Lacandon culture. Therefore this book. Bruce has provided an informative introduction to the Lacandones, but most of The Last Lords of Palenque is Perera’sjournal accounts of their visits to Lacandon villages: meals and conversations, storytelling and balche (the local brew) sessions, dreams and rituals. This format has the disadvantages of repetition and encumbering detail. The book could well use genealogical tables, a brief bibliography, an index and some editing. On the other hand, these informal, personal transcriptions preserve a semblance of life as it islived in situ, and this particular fabric is unravelling. While The Last Lords of Palenque is filled with material about the Lacandones, it is equally about Victor Perera and Robert...