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Pif Magazine
Pif Magazine |
Hummingbird House
The story that Patricia Henley tells in Hummingbird House is exotic and familiar at the same time. It is exotic in its setting — late 20th century Central America, where poverty, political instability, and violence coexist with lushly beautiful natural surroundings, and all seems tinged with a whispery mix of religion and mysticism. It is familiar in the character and temperament of Kate Banner, a nurse/midwife from Indiana who came to visit, nearly a decade and a half before, a childhood friend in Central America, and who, as the story opens, is considering that perhaps it is time for her to finally return home. Kate, a young, single woman when she first arrived, found that her medical, especially midwifing, skills were dearly needed in these poverty-stricken, war-torn, and natural disaster-prone regions, and what began as an adventure soon became for Kate a way of life. In her honest and openhearted way, Kate learned to live in conditions unthinkable in the United States Midwest, enduring extreme poverty and privation. In Guatemala, she met orphaned and abandoned young children who begged on the streets and sniffed glue to alleviate the pain of their hunger. Harder for Kate to get used to is the frightening military/political situation of the times in Central America. Kate and her friends and co-workers can never be sure if they will pass a military checkpoint safely en route to a disaster site, are often conscious of being followed, and live and work among a population under the constant threat of having a loved one disappear — either drafted (often too young) into military service or simply plucked from the street in a politically-motivated kidnapping. Despite all these hardships, Kate gets high delivering babies. She loves and respects the women of Andean and Spanish descent that she comes to work with and to help, and allows her life to be enriched by their wisdom and culture. And there is always more work waiting for her. So Kate just keeps working, until one day, in the midst of a destructive flood in Nicaragua, she is called to the aid of a teenaged mother enduring a difficult birth. Though the conditions are impossible — the mother is marooned in a filthy wooden boat, medical supplies are limited to what Kate has salvaged from her personal stash — the baby is delivered and the mother is finally at rest. But something goes wrong, and the mother dies during the night. This experience causes Kate to realize that maybe after so many years in service, she needs a break. Perhaps it is time to move on. Kate has hopes that the next phase of her life will involve Deaver, an artist who has been her longtime lover in Central America. Although her work has been a unique and commendable achievement, Kate tends to define her life in epochs based on her relationships. At home she had Paul, her best friend's brother, and up until now, in Nicaragua, she has had Deaver. Her life is about to phase into its future, and indeed, a new relationship will accompany that phase. Kate leaves Deaver and Nicaragua behind for Guatemala, where she plans to look in on some friends and decompress before ultimately returning to Indiana. She arrives physically and emotionally exhausted, cutting herself off from her surroundings for a time. After a while, however, she finds herself entangled in a harrowing personal and political situation, during which she connects deeply with Dixie, a soul-searching Catholic priest. Together, Kate and Dixie seek to define both of their futures, in their honest but never innocent way. Ms. Henley tells this beautiful story alternating the third person with Kate's own voice, and this technique works wonderfully to underscore the truth of Kate's feelings, words, and actions. In an environment and set of circumstances that is unfathomable to most of us, Kate is a character in which we can trust and believe. Kate is one of the most honest characters you are likely to get to know in a book — Patricia Henley has told her story with all of the skill and talent of a midwife, and more. Hummingbird House was a National Book Award finalist for 1999. Tell us what you think. Email talkback@pifmagazine.com Want Pif to review your book? Cara Bobchek is a writer based in Washington, D.C.
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