Godburned

Godburned follows Pearl, a retired librarian, on her Mexican vacation.  On the last day, she visits the Great Temple of the Aztecs.  Her fascination with Aztec culture began in college when she studied Spanish under the dashing [professor] Señor Rueda who once recited a poem while touching the Sun Stone.  Pearl's only other visit to Mexico had been on her honeymoon and she and her husband Burney had spent most of the vacation sick in the hotel.  Jordan Allen interlaces moments from Pearl's past, her husband's premature death, her son and granddaughter, and her love of Aztec poetry, with the harsh poverty of the locals.  As the story builds to her moment in front of the Sun Stone, all of Pearl's hopes and longings are tied to this piece of the Earth.  Avoiding the pitfalls of a travelogue story, Godburned is a well-crafted merging of cultures and spirituality.