Tarantula Woman, by Donald O’Donovan

Tarantula Woman,

by Donald O’Donovan

     An American writer lives on the Mexican side of the border, spending most of his life floating around Mariscal Street A place also known as the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. He spends his days writing letters to the many men who the whores pay special attention too, or whatever random job he has found at any given time. His nights are spent wondering from club to club with his good friend Roscoe and ending is one of the many girls’ bedrooms. Though he cares for one the most, Ysela; a girl with a Tarantula on her shoulder as well as one for a personality. She still is and always will be a whore.     

     This story is not about the Tarantula woman… giving her the place in the title still this feels a little odd to me. She doesn’t axially show up in the story for a good 40 pages. The story is the author’s story, as he wonders around Mexico and try’s to find a place where he belongs. He moves from job to job, living space to living space. Trying to be a writer in some sense of the word and trying to find his place.

       The story it’s self isn’t that intriguing. Not a lot happens and I found it jumps from location to location, as well as the amount of time that has passed in between each chapter a fair bit.  What this story does give you is a true sense of the life of the pore in Mexico. Those that are the lowest of the low, who do everything and everything they can to get just enough food for today, to have that place to sleep for the night. It shows you how those in that situation have hope. They have nothing but still believe there is a way for them to get out. To get to a better place… they just have to find it.  Some even do.

     The other thing with this novel is it takes an odd (and what could be done very wrong) topic of a man who visits whore houses continually, in a very classy way. It’s not crude or explicit at all. It doesn’t hid or deny what is going on. But it’s described in the same voice as cooking chilly. As if it’s just part of life.  

     Overall I didn’t really enjoy reading this book, but I think there are some who might. It’s a little odd and all over the place for me, thought I think I saw what the author was trying to show me.