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The Ghost of Milagro Creek
"Devastating . . . [ Ghost of Milagro Creek ] simmers with metaphysical tension."— Time Out Chicago
The story of Ignacia Vigil Romero, a full Jacarilla Apache, and the two boys, Mister and Tomás, she raised to adulthood unfolds in a barrio of Taos, New Mexico—a mixed community of Native Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Now deceased, Ignacia, a curandera —a medicine woman, though some say a witch—begins this tale of star-crossed lovers.
Mister and Tomás, best friends until their late teens, both fall for Rocky, a gringa of some mystery, a girl Tomás takes for himself. But in a moment of despair, a pledge between the young men leads to murder. When Ignacia falls silent, police reports, witness statements, and caseworker interviews draw an electrifying portrait of a troubled community and of the vulnerable players in this mounting tragedy. Set in a terrain that becomes a character in its own right, The Ghost of Milagro Creek brilliantly illuminates this hidden corner of American society.
The story of Ignacia Vigil Romero, a full Jacarilla Apache, and the two boys, Mister and Tomás, she raised to adulthood unfolds in a barrio of Taos, New Mexico—a mixed community of Native Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Now deceased, Ignacia, a curandera —a medicine woman, though some say a witch—begins this tale of star-crossed lovers.
Mister and Tomás, best friends until their late teens, both fall for Rocky, a gringa of some mystery, a girl Tomás takes for himself. But in a moment of despair, a pledge between the young men leads to murder. When Ignacia falls silent, police reports, witness statements, and caseworker interviews draw an electrifying portrait of a troubled community and of the vulnerable players in this mounting tragedy. Set in a terrain that becomes a character in its own right, The Ghost of Milagro Creek brilliantly illuminates this hidden corner of American society.
- GenresFiction
267 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 28, 2010
Every now and then, a "stealth book" comes along - one that surprises you, captures you in its grip, and doesn't let go until you turn the last page.
The Ghost of Milagro Creek is such a book.
I expected this book to be something else entirely - a light mystery about two blood brothers who vied for the same gringo girl in the Cain-and-Abel tradition. In reality, the book is lyrical, poignant, and from time to time, electrifying. It depicts the life of the Taos barrio colorfully and - in my mind - authentically.
Milagro Creek is the story of Ignancia Vigil Romero, a Jicarilla (basket weaver) Apache and a curandera (medicine woman, or some might say, witch) and the two sons she raises to adulthood: Mister and Tomas. It is filled with secondary characters who jump off the pages - Raquel O'Brien, the gringo short-story writer, Chief, a bipolar man who establishes a local sweat house, the very fallible priest Manny Petit and a host of others.
The immersion into Taos life is described at one point by Petit's Right Reverend: "At first, it will jump right out at you - sun gods, saints dressed up like dolls, peyote buttons, nudity. Then you get used to it. You want to be politically correct and all that. Okay, then. After a while, you start to see it how they see it. When that happens, it's time to leave."
As readers, we enter this mystical world. We are present for susto--the live burial of the child Mister until "the bud of (his) soul began to swell...pushing outward with mysterious force." We hear the tales that are the framework for the Jicarilla Apache life. We see the rivalry of the blood brothers becoming more and more potent. And we get into the rhythm of the natural world and all its mysteries and glories.
The denouement is played out in all sorts of ways - through police reports, witness statements, case worker interviews, short-story snippets written by Raquel (Rocky), and a pilgrimage to Chimayo - an actual event that takes place in New Mexico. This is not a linear book; it bounces back and forth in time, switches narrators (a big part is narrated by Ignacia, who is already dead of ALS at the books onset), and saunters back to ancient tales as it bobs and weaves it way to the conclusion. The mystical Taos landscape is every bit as much of a "character" as the humans; as Ignacia says to Mister, "Rock, sky woman...this is your mother."
Melanie Sumner has created an authentic and heartbreaking book that will stay with me. I urge you to discover it for yourself.
The Ghost of Milagro Creek is such a book.
I expected this book to be something else entirely - a light mystery about two blood brothers who vied for the same gringo girl in the Cain-and-Abel tradition. In reality, the book is lyrical, poignant, and from time to time, electrifying. It depicts the life of the Taos barrio colorfully and - in my mind - authentically.
Milagro Creek is the story of Ignancia Vigil Romero, a Jicarilla (basket weaver) Apache and a curandera (medicine woman, or some might say, witch) and the two sons she raises to adulthood: Mister and Tomas. It is filled with secondary characters who jump off the pages - Raquel O'Brien, the gringo short-story writer, Chief, a bipolar man who establishes a local sweat house, the very fallible priest Manny Petit and a host of others.
The immersion into Taos life is described at one point by Petit's Right Reverend: "At first, it will jump right out at you - sun gods, saints dressed up like dolls, peyote buttons, nudity. Then you get used to it. You want to be politically correct and all that. Okay, then. After a while, you start to see it how they see it. When that happens, it's time to leave."
As readers, we enter this mystical world. We are present for susto--the live burial of the child Mister until "the bud of (his) soul began to swell...pushing outward with mysterious force." We hear the tales that are the framework for the Jicarilla Apache life. We see the rivalry of the blood brothers becoming more and more potent. And we get into the rhythm of the natural world and all its mysteries and glories.
The denouement is played out in all sorts of ways - through police reports, witness statements, case worker interviews, short-story snippets written by Raquel (Rocky), and a pilgrimage to Chimayo - an actual event that takes place in New Mexico. This is not a linear book; it bounces back and forth in time, switches narrators (a big part is narrated by Ignacia, who is already dead of ALS at the books onset), and saunters back to ancient tales as it bobs and weaves it way to the conclusion. The mystical Taos landscape is every bit as much of a "character" as the humans; as Ignacia says to Mister, "Rock, sky woman...this is your mother."
Melanie Sumner has created an authentic and heartbreaking book that will stay with me. I urge you to discover it for yourself.
July 9, 2010
Melanie Sumner's second novel is like a beautiful river on a summer day: it shines, gathers the light of the sun, reflects the sky and the trees arching over, but the heart of the thing--what soothes and moves, what takes hold and releases--lies deep below the surface. Swimming through its pages, which contain passages of great lyric beauty--whole paragraphs read like poems--brings an immediate pleasure, but it's not until one emerges that he knows he has been changed by his being immersed--changed and, in a significant way, healed.
The book's power to effect such a healing springs from its lovable main character, Ignacia Romero, a curandera, or medicine woman, who desires to heal not only those she loves and cares for--her grandson, Mister, for instance, whose parents have abandoned him--but also those she must tolerate. Her compassion extends even to Ramona Mondragon, the hapless and sometimes abusive mother of Yolanda and Tomas, Mister's best friend and blood brother; although continually disappointed by Ramona's inability to love herself and her children, Ignacia mixes up a paste that gets rid of the corns on Ramona's feet.
When a stray dog of a man named Layton Scoggins, who goes by the name Chief because, as he says, "that's what God calls me," shows up on her doorstep, Ignacia doesn't shoo him away but allows him to become useful again (he fixes her front door and installs an irrigation system in her garden). Eventually, Ignacia takes Chief as her man. Having been restored, albeit temporarily, to wholeness, Chief himself acts as an agent of healing; he builds a sweat lodge and, in one of the book's funniest and most powerful scenes, teaches everyone how to pray, saying, "Don't pray for yourself; it don't work."
While she lives, Ignacia is the strand that holds together the tattered blanket that is the barrio of Taos, New Mexico, where the majority of the novel unfolds. She is Abuela, grandmother, to the entire community. Upon her death, life gets messier, murkier, very quickly. Mister commits a crime that will alter him forever; he flees the barrio, and it's all he can do to maintain a loose grip on reality. Spiraling in the hole created by Abuela's death, missing her love, he seeks the love of Rocky, the gorgeous gringa he has wanted, ached for, imagined himself with since the tenth grade. Whether he survives depends almost entirely on whether Rocky forgives and accepts him despite his unthinkable crime, which affects her as markedly as it does him.
One of the strengths of The Ghost of Milagro Creek--and there are many--is that it acknowledges the brokenness of the world and the need we have, all of us, for healing. Sumner offers some ideas as to how we might proceed--she suggests we must come close to the earth, or closer at least, and closer to each other--but, in the end, she leaves the blanks unfilled. She knows there are no easy answers. Her characters are as fractured as they were at the start, which is to say, they are real, real and very much like ourselves.
The book's power to effect such a healing springs from its lovable main character, Ignacia Romero, a curandera, or medicine woman, who desires to heal not only those she loves and cares for--her grandson, Mister, for instance, whose parents have abandoned him--but also those she must tolerate. Her compassion extends even to Ramona Mondragon, the hapless and sometimes abusive mother of Yolanda and Tomas, Mister's best friend and blood brother; although continually disappointed by Ramona's inability to love herself and her children, Ignacia mixes up a paste that gets rid of the corns on Ramona's feet.
When a stray dog of a man named Layton Scoggins, who goes by the name Chief because, as he says, "that's what God calls me," shows up on her doorstep, Ignacia doesn't shoo him away but allows him to become useful again (he fixes her front door and installs an irrigation system in her garden). Eventually, Ignacia takes Chief as her man. Having been restored, albeit temporarily, to wholeness, Chief himself acts as an agent of healing; he builds a sweat lodge and, in one of the book's funniest and most powerful scenes, teaches everyone how to pray, saying, "Don't pray for yourself; it don't work."
While she lives, Ignacia is the strand that holds together the tattered blanket that is the barrio of Taos, New Mexico, where the majority of the novel unfolds. She is Abuela, grandmother, to the entire community. Upon her death, life gets messier, murkier, very quickly. Mister commits a crime that will alter him forever; he flees the barrio, and it's all he can do to maintain a loose grip on reality. Spiraling in the hole created by Abuela's death, missing her love, he seeks the love of Rocky, the gorgeous gringa he has wanted, ached for, imagined himself with since the tenth grade. Whether he survives depends almost entirely on whether Rocky forgives and accepts him despite his unthinkable crime, which affects her as markedly as it does him.
One of the strengths of The Ghost of Milagro Creek--and there are many--is that it acknowledges the brokenness of the world and the need we have, all of us, for healing. Sumner offers some ideas as to how we might proceed--she suggests we must come close to the earth, or closer at least, and closer to each other--but, in the end, she leaves the blanks unfilled. She knows there are no easy answers. Her characters are as fractured as they were at the start, which is to say, they are real, real and very much like ourselves.
July 1, 2011
Not my cup of tea, the writing style is stream of consciousness. I found it a bit unrealistic making it hard for me to relate to the characters.
November 16, 2011
Totally not as bad as I thought it would be. But some of the font choices are really unfortunate.
November 26, 2013
Kind of a weird read. Enjoyed the Spanish phrases and the interesting characters but the story is all jumbled up.
June 15, 2018
Popsugar 2018 - A book by a local author
It takes a lot of skill to write a good book that switches between not just points of view but between the past and the present. I feel this one failed. It came off as very disjointed and erratic. I never got to know any of the characters well enough to care about them.
It takes a lot of skill to write a good book that switches between not just points of view but between the past and the present. I feel this one failed. It came off as very disjointed and erratic. I never got to know any of the characters well enough to care about them.
June 24, 2018
The book was not what I expected.
July 7, 2020
My former prof. Great lines.
July 17, 2010
"Ghost" is charming, funny, edgy, irreverent--and a deeply moral book. When I say "moral," I don't mean that Sumner tries to impart a neat and tidy lesson. She offers no lesson, no solution, no prescription. Rather, she offers a main character, Ignacia Romero, also known as Abuela, who practices a deep and heart-centered spirituality, one that acknowledges that we human beings, despite our sophistication and technological prowess, are children of the earth. And as powerful as we have become, we are still at the mercy of larger forces, namely, Nature and Creator. Abuela, a curandera (medicine woman) who heals her community at every opportunity, serves to remind us that we are not independent but interdependent, not isolated but woven fully into the fabric of life, not abandoned by God--or anyone, for that matter--but visited, more often than we may know, by miracles.
Her grandson, Mister, is a seeker. Having been raised by Abuela because his father ran off to Hollywood to become a star and his mother is an alcoholic, Mister knows that he is a part of something larger, something for which he has no name. He grows up a religious boy, one who undertakes the annual pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo--a tiny church near Taos, New Mexico, where the novel is set--carrying a replica of the cross Jesus was forced to bear. But he comes to question God--"Does God care?" he asks Abuela--and at fifteen, he falls away from the Church. His loss of faith does not translate into an immediate emotional or psychological collapse, however; he no longer believes in God, but he continues to believe in himself. Considering the extent of his parents' neglect, he does quite well, and at nineteen, he has what could be called a life: he's a college student who's made a small down payment on a Jeep "with 114,000 miles and a new tire." His future may not be bright--you can take those shades off, Mister--but at least he has one.
Then, Abuela dies. Abuela, who was the mother his mother failed to be; Abuela, who healed him when, at the age of four, he suffered a beating at the hands of his mother's boyfriend; Abuela, who protected and guided and consoled and loved him. The loss of her plunges Mister into a darkness unlike any he has known before, and he must feel his way out. He must keep walking, moving, searching for the light he knows to exist.
"Ghost" is deeply moral, yes, but never dogmatic. Its characters--whether they are Catholic or not, whether they cling to faith or cast it off--are pilgrims. If there is a lesson to be drawn, then, it is this: we are pilgrims, too, and we would do well to share each other's burdens.
Her grandson, Mister, is a seeker. Having been raised by Abuela because his father ran off to Hollywood to become a star and his mother is an alcoholic, Mister knows that he is a part of something larger, something for which he has no name. He grows up a religious boy, one who undertakes the annual pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo--a tiny church near Taos, New Mexico, where the novel is set--carrying a replica of the cross Jesus was forced to bear. But he comes to question God--"Does God care?" he asks Abuela--and at fifteen, he falls away from the Church. His loss of faith does not translate into an immediate emotional or psychological collapse, however; he no longer believes in God, but he continues to believe in himself. Considering the extent of his parents' neglect, he does quite well, and at nineteen, he has what could be called a life: he's a college student who's made a small down payment on a Jeep "with 114,000 miles and a new tire." His future may not be bright--you can take those shades off, Mister--but at least he has one.
Then, Abuela dies. Abuela, who was the mother his mother failed to be; Abuela, who healed him when, at the age of four, he suffered a beating at the hands of his mother's boyfriend; Abuela, who protected and guided and consoled and loved him. The loss of her plunges Mister into a darkness unlike any he has known before, and he must feel his way out. He must keep walking, moving, searching for the light he knows to exist.
"Ghost" is deeply moral, yes, but never dogmatic. Its characters--whether they are Catholic or not, whether they cling to faith or cast it off--are pilgrims. If there is a lesson to be drawn, then, it is this: we are pilgrims, too, and we would do well to share each other's burdens.
March 27, 2013
In Melanie Sumner’s superlative The Ghost of Milagro Creek, Ignacia Romero, a Jicarilla Apache, is a curandera, a healer of corporal and spiritual ailments. She resides in a barrio of Taos, New Mexico. And she is dead. In fact, her ghost, reminiscent of the narrator in the acclaimed novel, The Lovely Bones, tells the first part of a story of life in the barrio, where Native Americans, Mexican-Americans and Caucasians intermingle. The tale, though, belongs to her grandson, Mister, and to his best friend, Tomás, who grow up in this barrio, watched over by Ignacia until her own health fails and she dies, to become that ghost/narrator.
Mister and Tomás have made a pact that they bring into play as they become teenagers. The foil to their friendship is a girl, Raquel O’Brien, a gringa who is called Rocky. But the story is as much an illustration on the sad state of life for Native Americans and latinos in the American Southwest as it is a story of teenage love.
Sumner’s vibrant sense of place and her strong, authentic characters imbue this beautifully-written novel with the powerful brushstrokes of a master artist. The story is wistful, sad, almost hopeless at times, but also infused with wisdom and humor. A must-read for anyone who loves fine writing.
Mister and Tomás have made a pact that they bring into play as they become teenagers. The foil to their friendship is a girl, Raquel O’Brien, a gringa who is called Rocky. But the story is as much an illustration on the sad state of life for Native Americans and latinos in the American Southwest as it is a story of teenage love.
Sumner’s vibrant sense of place and her strong, authentic characters imbue this beautifully-written novel with the powerful brushstrokes of a master artist. The story is wistful, sad, almost hopeless at times, but also infused with wisdom and humor. A must-read for anyone who loves fine writing.
Read
September 7, 2010This is what literature is all about: rich characters, complex plot, inviting setting.
I would find myself sneaking a few sentences at traffic lights, and I did have to thumb through a few pages back when I finished to check on a few things. I could have easily turned around and re-read this one, and I don't, as a rule, re-read books.
My only caveat, as with many literary books, is that the ending wasn't as clean-cut as I would have liked. On the other hand, the part with the priest sideswiped me. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if there was something I missed since I was constantly reading 5 pages here and 10 pages there as I, ahem, ignored my poor, poor children.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book especially for those who tend to the literary or for anyone who likes strong characters.
I would find myself sneaking a few sentences at traffic lights, and I did have to thumb through a few pages back when I finished to check on a few things. I could have easily turned around and re-read this one, and I don't, as a rule, re-read books.
My only caveat, as with many literary books, is that the ending wasn't as clean-cut as I would have liked. On the other hand, the part with the priest sideswiped me. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if there was something I missed since I was constantly reading 5 pages here and 10 pages there as I, ahem, ignored my poor, poor children.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book especially for those who tend to the literary or for anyone who likes strong characters.
August 3, 2010
This book is rich in symbolism and spirituality, and the author has pulled from universal themes, as well as Native American cosmology. The overriding message of this book is death, but not simply the negative connotation that society has given to the concept of death. The author presents death as part of a duality, as being an opportunity as well as a setback. In this sense, death can be a release from the physical realm, a chance for spiritual rebirth, an opportunity to begin a new life.
The characters are engaging and well developed, my favorite being Abuela. In Abuela, the author has found a true voice through which to speak to the reader. Overall it is an enjoyable read, with plenty of material for the reader to think through between chapters.
The characters are engaging and well developed, my favorite being Abuela. In Abuela, the author has found a true voice through which to speak to the reader. Overall it is an enjoyable read, with plenty of material for the reader to think through between chapters.
August 14, 2010
The southwest setting, with its interesting blend of cultures, was this novel's strong point. The elderly main character, Abuela, raises her grandson, sharing her wisdom and the folk lore of the Jicarilla Apache. The author develops Abuela into a marvelous narrator, but I felt that the lesser characters were shallow. I didn't feel drawn into the story, largely because I felt rather apathetic about many of the characters. In addition, the frequent shifting from past to present and even future became disorienting, detracting from my interest when it started to build. While the portrait of the community was very well done, I felt that this book didn't really live up to its excellent reviews.
Read
November 3, 2010This one was a bit different and suspenseful. Reminded me a little bit of Alice Walker's book that has a dead person's spirit as the narrator - can't think of the title. If you want to learn a little bit about Taos, New Mexico, this would be a good introduction. I love all of references to Indians and Mexicans - their culture, language, and food. There is a mix between Christianity and clairvoyance (some would call it witchcraft). Happy ending for some and not for others. This is worth reading a second time to get all of the clues. Thank you to the person who got this book for me from the Decatur Art's Festival and got the author to sign it!
June 27, 2010
The writing is decent enough. The Southwestern lore and superstitions are interesting and sometimes humorous. I enjoyed some of the fun language usage.
As for the story, it's just too scattered and patchy. For me, a book with too many plots is essentially plotless, and therefore pointless. Furthermore, I didn't like any of the characters. They annoyed me. I also found it confusing to keep track of the characters as things bounced around among the various plots and perspectives.
As for the story, it's just too scattered and patchy. For me, a book with too many plots is essentially plotless, and therefore pointless. Furthermore, I didn't like any of the characters. They annoyed me. I also found it confusing to keep track of the characters as things bounced around among the various plots and perspectives.
June 20, 2012
An engaging book. The story is told primarily by the dead aunt. This book is a combination anthropological study and spiritual refection on the consequences of a boyhood pact between two Apache youths in their barrio community in New Mexico. I enjoyed the way this Georgia author developed her characters and provided insight from their perspectives. Interesting and unique read for anyone who likes reading about different cultures. I will be looking for more books written by Melanie Sumner.
July 22, 2010
There are some books where the author’s descriptions and creation of the setting is so strong and comes through so clearly, that it outshines the story in my memory. This was one of those novels it seems, as it’s been so long since I read it that all I truly remember is a strong sense of place. In reading the Amazon description of the book, it seems that I am not alone in this.
August 25, 2010
Two friends on a reservation who vow to die together. One doesn't pull the trigger & the other is "on the run" because he killed his best friend. The characters of the grandmother & her male companion are pretty well written & quite funny.
August 21, 2012
I can't bring myself to recommend work by people I know if I don't believe it's good - I'm too afraid of judgment - so believe me when I write that this is excellent work, never mind the author being a former professor of mine.
December 29, 2012
Excellent... I will read this book again, which is the highest compliment I can give to a book. The language is beautiful and from start to finish there is a lot of story. I hate to leave it... but with 188 books purchased and waiting to be read I'll move on for the time being.
July 7, 2010
Disapponted... I never got to know the characters. Very convoluted.
August 5, 2010
Set near Taos NM. Made me "homesick" for NM, very nicely done.
March 27, 2011
Pretty darn good read with some nice evocations of the southwestern desert.
December 29, 2013
This started out an interesting book but failed to hold up to tale it had started.
January 15, 2016
Ok
Didn't like the ending. Leaves too many open questions about the characters. I thought the mix of christian and pagan beliefs interesting. Just didn't care for ending.
Didn't like the ending. Leaves too many open questions about the characters. I thought the mix of christian and pagan beliefs interesting. Just didn't care for ending.
December 30, 2017
This story takes place in New Mexico between two young men who grew up as friends, both in love with the same girl.
It is a tragic story but one that most likely takes place more often than it should.
The story is well written, the landscapes described beautifully and grandmother is a medicine woman of power, now deceased.
It is a tragic story but one that most likely takes place more often than it should.
The story is well written, the landscapes described beautifully and grandmother is a medicine woman of power, now deceased.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews