Heartbeat Drumbeat by Irene Beltrán Hernández (review)

158 WesternAmerican Literature Washington, Michael Dorris has been labeled a western writer. Because the three main characters in that book are mixedbloods, and Dorris himself is part Modoc, he has been labeled a NativeAmerican writer, too. With the publication of Working Men, a collection of fourteen short stories, these labels no longer apply. Only four of the stories take place in the West, and only two involve Native American characters. Yet, as in A YellowRaft (and in The Crown ofColumbus, the novel that Dorris co-wrote with Louise Erdrich), Dorris remains deeply committed to the themes of love, loyalty, and loss. Stories about family and romantic relationships, which Dorris writes as well as anyone, bring these themes to the forefront. Not all of these stories strive for profundity, however. Indeed, some, such as “Earnest Money” and “Oui,” charm by their unwillingness to take themselves too seri­ ously. The former re-acquaints readers with Sky and Evelyn, the offbeat couple who befriend Rayona in A YellowRaft. The latter concerns a Montana plowman and his marriage to a woman who has come West to start a new life. Coached by Cecille, the narrator lands ajob teaching high school French, though he knows about three words of the language. It’s an improbable tale—endearing love stories typically are—but very funny, nonetheless. Decidedly more serious, but just as pleasing, is “Shining Agate”—which provides a welcome break from all the stories about relationships. Its protago­ nist is an anthropologist in Alaska who gains acceptance by the native commu­ nity only after he has stood up, unwittingly, to a ghost. “Layaway,”also notewor­ thy for its uniqueness, is a truly original Vietnam tale about a clerk in an Army PX. In this and other stories, Dorris makes one of his favorite satirical points: in a consumer culture, people express themselves through what they buy. Aware of this, the clerk/narrator prides himself on knowing “the cost required, discount or retail, to mend hurt feelings or to demonstrate a precise degree ofaffection.” One recalls Rayona’s mother, Christine, in A Yellow Raft, whose lifetime mem­ bership at Village Video represents an emotional investment for her. Although Dorris may be shedding labels as his career develops, the voice and subject matter have not changed significantly. PAUL HADELLA Southern Oregon State College HeartbeatDrumbeat. By Irene Beltrán Hernández. (Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992. 134 pages, $9.50.) Set in the rugged Sangre de Cristo mountains, Irene Beltrán Hernández’s novel recounts the identity crisis of Morgana Cruz, the only child of an outcast Navajo tribal princess and a wealthy Mexican-American rancher. Morgana’s half-breed upbringing evidences the ceremonial richness of these two south­ western culturesjust as it forebodes their inevitable clash. Not surprisingly, she Reviews 159 has learned less from Anglo institutions than from her loved ones. Her wise Navajo mentor, Isadora, taught her pottery, tribal mythology, and occasionally sex education. Her mother Marisol, an accomplished weaver, nurtured her aesthetic taste, while Frank Cruz, her impassioned father, gave her respect for the land and its creatures. The back cover describes the novel as “a coming-of-age story” that will “appeal to readers of all ages.”This might be stretching it. Morgana confronts multiple tragedies in Isadora’s and her mother’s deaths and the near-death, following mutilation by a bear, of her father. But the principal conflict involves her falling-in-love and marriage, problems albeit resolved by the handsome Eagle Eyes (a.k.a. “Rusty”), an orphaned Navajo tribal lawyer and herbalisthealer . Hard-eyed, hard-bodied, and perplexingly brusque, Eagle Eyes or “he who knows all”appeals less to this reader than he fortunately does to Morgana. Ultimately, Morgana and Eagle Eyes’ marriage seems less unforeseen than tediously preordained—the result of their bloodlines and well-meaning elders. If the novel lacks irony, it nonetheless contains a wealth of Navajo ceremo­ nial lorejuxtaposed to the macho empire of the rancher. If it wants the graphic impact ofAnaya, Momaday, Erdrich, or Silko, it may be in its uncommon world picture. Notwithstanding its pervasive eroticism, the novel contains no drunks, no prostitutes, no profanity. Seldom is heard a discouraging...