Ch'ayemal nich'nabiletik / Los hijos errantes / The Errant Children

Mikel Ruiz''s The Errant Children the first novel published in the Tsotsil Maya language offers a bold and unflinching portrayal of contemporary Maya life in Chiapas Mxico. Pedro Ton Tsepente'' has a position in his village''s traditional council but rather than taking just a few ceremonial drinks he becomes an alcoholic subject to blackouts and delirium tremens. His wife Pascuala rages at God to step in and change her husband''s behavior taking extreme measures when He does not. Their neighbor seventeen-year-old Ignacio Ts''unun learns about gender relations by watching television programs where beautiful women are lighter-skinned and about sex by watching pornography which leads to disastrous choices. These characters'' suffering comes not from conquerors missionaries or settlers but from invasive economic and cultural forces that can make Indigenous people devalue themselves. Do not expect to be uplifted but do prepare to be astonished.