My parents, Berta and Antonio de Melo before coming to Canada

I am grateful to Susan K. Riggs for her insightful read of A Journey of Promise

In this compelling, autobiographical tale, Melo relates the story of his move from Portugal to Canada, assuming the persona of his father, who left the six-year-old Melo and his mother in order to pursue the promise of a new life in North America with (eventually) his wife and son.

The narrative weaves a complex diasporic tapestry of plot and character, portraying a journey that segues into the psychology of the author, raising important issues, concerns and questions about how change can affect those too young to truly understand it.

The imagined journey of the father unfolds chronologically and has a familiar tone to readers of diasporic literature–fear of rejection in a new land juxtaposed with painful emotional memories of the stability of home and hearth left behind.  Religion is carefully and consistently woven through the narrative as a continuing force that can never quite quell the doubts about life in a new land with unknown relatives whose acceptance and support is unknown.

Through the imagined “memories”, Melo paints a vibrant picture of his parents, especially his father, whose observations and self-questioning create a comprehensive profile for the reader, who senses too the heartfelt mutual adoration of the couple, expressed through narration and shared correspondence, providing the reader with a rounded, palpable sense of these characters.

Unlike the parents, the son remains an enigma throughout. We learn in the prologue, through the voice of the adult Melo, that the child existed in a cocoon-like uncomprehending “grief” over his father’s absence, and the little boy remains a constant but peripheral figure throughout the narrative, identifiable only through the eyes and emotions of the parents. Indeed, the reader senses that, despite the circuitous nature of his portrayal, the boy may be the one most profoundly affected by the cultural earthquake that has uprooted his world. At one point, the father questions the effect of his leave-taking on his son, asking “would it break his heart the way it broke mind?”  For the reader, this question will remain rhetorical.

In the final analysis, paternal love is the guiding North Star that motivates and eventually guides the family to its new abode, indicating perhaps, that it is the son who will be left with the more existential questions that only time and perspective may solve.

Overall, the “journey’s promise” is just that—a deep dive into the psychology of a family on the move–with a happy ending.

Promises made.

Promises kept.

Susan K. Riggs is currently a writing instructor for students at Trinity College, and Victoria College, University of Toronto.

A Journey of Promise has been published in Filamentos, Arts and Letters in the Azorean Diaspora