Reviewed by Cameron Stulting-Flores
A paralegal (what was his name again?), a founding partner of a law firm, and an off-color left arm. How do these fit together? How do any of us fit together? Are we our memories and experiences, or something else entirely? Daniel A. Olivas’ Chicano Frankenstein tells the story of mad political scientists, mad regular scientists, and the unsettling way that assimilation can leave us confused about our own identities and our places in the world.
If you enjoy novels that explore complex topics, you’ll likely enjoy Chicano Frankenstein. Olivas is an established author, with an impressive history of writing Hispanic-oriented works in the form of novelas and collected short stories and poems. His publications include My Chicano Heart: New and Collected Stories of Love and Other Transgressions, How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories, Crossing the Border: Collected Poems, and Things We Do Not Talk About: Exploring Latino/a Literature through Essays and Interviews. Drawing from the very origins of science fiction (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein), elements of political satire, and the Latin American literary tradition of magical realism, Olivas skillfully blends various genres into a compelling allegory of the marginalized American experience. In Chicano Frankenstein, you can expect touches of science fiction, romance, absurdity, and bittersweet hope.
Our protagonist, a paralegal who’s name is a mystery to the reader, ponders about his place in the world as a “reanimated” man, brought back to life from a now illegal medical procedure. The man begins to fall in love with Faustina, a founding partner in a boutique law firm, and the two grow increasingly close. Their love story invites questions about family, culture, equality, and what it truly means to be human. Meanwhile in the background (though ever-present and looming), a political battle rages on, as the President of the United States rides an anti-reanimation platform through the midterms. The United States of Chicano Frankenstein is uncomfortably similar to our own, with talk of stolen elections, wokeism, and making the country “safe” again. Throughout the novel, Olivas melds themes of romance and self discovery with themes of scapegoating, othering, and fear.
The novel’s satirical and philosophical elements of the book are prominent and biting, though never overpowering the other themes of the book. Through the dynamic of the man and Faustina, Olivas explores the concept of humanity, and what it means to be “the other” in American society. Through their conversations, between themselves and with others, they ponder what makes a person a person, regardless of memories, body, and culture. Faustina Godínez, a Hispanic-American woman, a Hispanic-American woman, maintains a strong connection to her family and cultural roots, often speaking to others in Spanglish and engaging deeply with her heritage. By contrast, the man, as a reanimated person, has little connection to his culture, and no connection to many parts of his own previous life. Through his matter-of-fact tone, Olivas captures the disoriented feeling of assimilating to another culture from one’s own, and the loss of self that it entails. When the man looks down, he is disconnected from his own body, unfamiliar with his limbs. At times when he speaks, he is unfamiliar with his own language, even struggling to remember Faustina’s name. Here, the man is attempting to assimilate with the living, having been completely severed from his former self.
This internal battle mirrors the political battle raging on within the government and American society, as the country grapples with the concept of reanimation, and how to handle the presence of a new “other” in society. Chicano Frankenstein does not shy away from marginalization within American society, instead insisting that readers consider the perspective of the reanimated, narrating much of the story through the man’s point of view.
Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel A. Olivas weaves complex metaphors of culture, assimilation and marginalization through the lens of science fiction and satire. Additionally, the political references to our own society are stark, plain, and do not shy away from reality. Olivas poses great questions to the reader, insisting that the reader see through the eyes of the societal other.