A review by silverthane
Flowering Judas and Other Stories by Katherine Anne Porter
3.0
Flowering Judas is a short story I read as part of a book group.
It is the tale of Laura; an American teacher living in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) Laura plays an active part in the war assisting Socialist revolutionaries by visiting them in prison and passing on important messages to different factions. Laura seems to empathise with the poor of Mexico teaching peasant children how to speak English.
I liked Laura as a character, probably because she is brave and defies the conventions of the age for lots of different reasons. Firstly she is an independent woman during a period of time when women tended to stay at home and be shackled by marriage as soon as they were old enough (whether they wanted to or not) she has travelled to a country wracked by bloody civil war where she barely speaks the language all by herself just to help a cause she believes in. America as a nation sided with the government forces so Laura risked arrest and, at the very least, censure from her own people in the US.
Although the story is short I felt I got to know Laura well. A leader in the revolution is staying at her house temporarily and he is not shy about voicing his opinions of her. He cannot understand why she remains single. It is never explicitly stated why and I must admit any view I have on the matter would be guesswork. Any ideas Lesa?
As with most short stories I felt it had the potential to be more and would have loved to have read another 20 to 30 pages but alas such is the nature of short stories. I will definitely be looking to read more Katherine Anne Porter books in the future.
It is the tale of Laura; an American teacher living in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) Laura plays an active part in the war assisting Socialist revolutionaries by visiting them in prison and passing on important messages to different factions. Laura seems to empathise with the poor of Mexico teaching peasant children how to speak English.
I liked Laura as a character, probably because she is brave and defies the conventions of the age for lots of different reasons. Firstly she is an independent woman during a period of time when women tended to stay at home and be shackled by marriage as soon as they were old enough (whether they wanted to or not) she has travelled to a country wracked by bloody civil war where she barely speaks the language all by herself just to help a cause she believes in. America as a nation sided with the government forces so Laura risked arrest and, at the very least, censure from her own people in the US.
Although the story is short I felt I got to know Laura well. A leader in the revolution is staying at her house temporarily and he is not shy about voicing his opinions of her. He cannot understand why she remains single. It is never explicitly stated why and I must admit any view I have on the matter would be guesswork. Any ideas Lesa?
As with most short stories I felt it had the potential to be more and would have loved to have read another 20 to 30 pages but alas such is the nature of short stories. I will definitely be looking to read more Katherine Anne Porter books in the future.