Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
Elizabeth Wetmore’s Valentine is one of the best debut novels I have read.
I am in awe of her descriptions of the topography of West Texas, and the people that live there. Wetmore transports us to this barren land of oil rigs and cattle ranches. We see the tumbleweeds, the changing colors of the sky and the creatures that populate the plains. We hear snakes rattle, oil shafts burst and the rustling of the wind as it gathers strength.
Into this bleak and beautiful landscape, we meet several women who live in the town of Odessa. The novel begins in 1976 when Dale Strickland rapes Gloria Ramirez, a fourteen-year-old high school student, in a deserted oil patch. Wetmore spares us from Strickland’s brutal assault, but we comprehend the level of cruelty. After the attack, Gloria staggers to a farmhouse three miles away. When Mary Rose Whitehead opens the door with her rifle raised, she is surprised to see a traumatized young girl not much older than her daughter.
The sheriff arrests Strickland. One might expect the people of Odessa would be outraged when they learn of the rape. Instead, they direct their vitriol at Mary Rose, who agrees to testify against Strickland. Men in town leave messages on Mary Rose’s answering machine, “You going to stand up for that spic? You going to take her word over his?” But Mary Rose is incensed by the violence inflicted on Gloria. “Gloria could be any of our girls.” Even Mary Rose’s seemingly benign husband, Robert does not want Mary Rose to testify against Strickland. His bigotry emerges, and Mary Rose and her daughter move to town.
We meet several women who live on the street where Mary Rose now lives. We learn each character’s perspective about her life. Corrine Shepard, a retired English teacher whose terminally ill husband, shot himself, is depressed. Suzanne Ledbetter, the town’s Avon saleslady and do-gooder, is anxious. She tells her daughter, “Never depend on a man to take care of you. Even a good one like your daddy.” We meet Ginny who can’t tolerate the narrow mindedness and indifference of Odessa and leaves her daughter.
Wetmore’s novel shows the subjection of women irrespective of social class. Women are second class citizens, not by law, but by custom. And sadly, many of these women participate in their diminishment by protecting the norms and traditions of Odessa. Even women who are married to nice men doubt the young Mexican-American, Gloria Ramirez. Women are often dependent on men for survival and become trapped by motherhood and economic survival. Corrine says, ‘If we were lucky, we made it to twelve before some man or boy, or well-intentioned woman who just thought we ought to know the score, let us know why we were put on this earth. To cheer them on. To smile and bring a little sunshine into the room. To prop them up and know them and be nice to everybody we meet.”
Wetmore’s stunning novel quivers with rage. At one point, Mary Rose exclaims to Corrine, “Why don’t we give a shit about Gloria Ramirez?” Though these women help each other, their racism toward Mexican-Americans festers. In the end, Dale Strickland receives justice. But his punishment is not delivered through the courts. Instead, the good ole boys of Odessa beat him after he harasses a waitress. This informal system of retribution allows white males to maintain their “official” dominance of women and minorities. Wetmore has delivered a blistering and compelling novel about one community in Texas. With lyricism and vision, she shines a Texas-size light on the second class status of women.