Me, Who Dove Into the Heart of the World

Me, Who Dove Into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman.

Me, Who Dove Into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman.  Henry Holt and Co,  New York, 2012. ISBN 0805093257

Summary

It’s 1978, in Mazatlan, Mexico and Karen Nieto’s life is about to change.  Abandoned by her mother for being autistic, Karen has been living as a feral child, unable to speak or communicate with anyone.  After her mother dies, Aunt Isabelle arrives to  take care of the tuna cannery family business. Unaware that her sister had a child, Aunt Isabelle is surprised to find Karen in her feral state. Even the staff at the Nieto’s estate isn’t aware of Karen’s existence or that she’s even related to the Nieto’s.   

But Aunt Isabelle is convinced this feral child is her niece and she begins to clean her up, teach her how to speak, and how to read.  But Karen would rather swim in the ocean and make friends with sea creatures then go to school and make friends with other people.  As Karen grows up and tries to discover who she is, she realizes her gift of working with animals can be put to good use: by changing her family’s tuna cannery business.

Critical Evaluation

The main theme in Me, Who Dove into the Heart of the World is finding oneself. While Karen doesn’t fully understand the world around her or how to fit in with others, she does understand who she is. She refers to herself as Me throughout the novel, the pronoun always capitalized to mark the importance of her first word, as well as the importance of herself.  Readers of all ages will identify with Karen’s struggle of finding her place in the world.

The writing itself is beautiful and Berman does a wonderful job getting into the mind of Karen. With simple prose and rich descriptions of Mexico, the audience is able to feel what Karen feels and understand her thought process.   One interesting note about the writing style: since the book was translated from the original Spanish version, there are no quotation marks around the dialogue. This might be hard for some readers to get into, but doesn’t take anything away from this beautiful, haunting story.

Reader’s Annotation
Karen has always been different, but her connection with animals could save her family's business. .

About the Author

“Lauded for her poetry, short stories, newspaper articles and plays, she lays claim to the unprecedented honor of winning the Mexican Theater Prize four times. Among the many honors she has received are the 2000 National Journalism Award for Mujeres y poder; Premio de Poesía Pluridimensional Jugeute (Multidimensional Poetry Prize) for Mariposa (Butterfly); Premio de Cuento Latinoamericano (1975) for Año Internacional de la Mujer (International Year of the Woman ); Primer Premio de Teatro Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (1983) (First Prize from the Institute of Theatre of Fine Arts) for Yankee, Herejía(Heresy), Rompecabezas (Puzzle), and La maravillosa de niño pingüica.

Berman is undoubtedly recognized and celebrated for her contributions as a multifaceted and pioneering playwright, narrator, journalist, and poet. Her feminist ideals, struggles for social justice, acceptance of alternative sexual orientations, and treatment of the difficulties of belonging to an ethnic and religious minority are emblematic of her literary expression. She unabashedly celebrates all aspects of her distinctive identity—Jewish, Mexican and feminist—allowing them to culminate in a unique and unconventional form of literary expression.”

 (Weingarten, L. Sabina Berman. Retrieved November 15^th, 2014 from http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/berman-sabina)

Genres

Adult Fiction

Crossover

Curriculum Ties   N/A

Booktalking Ideas

1: Did you like Karen’s narrator style?

2:  Discuss the time period of the book-how it would have been different set in current time.

Reading Level/Interest Age

Ages 15+

Grades 9+

Challenge Issues

Language

Sexual situations

Defense File

1—Ensure that policies such as “Freedom to Read,” “Collection Development,” and “Challenged Materials” are available for patrons and staff to read and research. Have list of awards and reviews for titles, as well as a “Reconsideration Form” on hand at all branches.

2—Listen to challenges and complaints openly and without judgment. Allow the patron to express their thoughts without inputting your own.

3—Have patron fill out reconsideration form. Provide information and background on challenge material’s author and title.  Forward reconsideration form to appropriate supervisors.

PPLD’s Challenge Materials Policy: http://ppld.org/challenged-materials-policy

PPLD’s Collection Development Policy: http://ppld.org/collection-development-policy

  

Why included?

I included this book because it’s a good crossover of genre--both  teens and adults would like this book.  I especially loved the narrator and the prose of the book.