Floyd Merrell’s novel, Finding Himself, is an engaging coming-of-age story about a young man, Matt, who is both boldly devout and fiercely independent. Feeling a vocation to preach his Christian faith, he leaves his home in the Southwest and begins a lone journey, mostly on foot, across the border and into the most indigenous (and because of the drug wars, possibly the most dangerous) part of Mexico. The novel is rich with details of Mexican life and culture, painting a convincing picture of unexpected encounters with groups and individuals who would aid or obstruct the young man on his quest. A novel of ideas, the story follows Matt as he encounters the radical otherness of native life and begins to question many of the foundations of his system of beliefs. The tenets of his morality become less secure as he must try to survive in precarious situations. He sees the wisdom and generosity of persons and groups who would be considered primitive by most Westerners. I was intrigued by the main character, and engaged with his earnest, ingenuous and sometimes foolish quest for personal righteousness. I enjoyed being introduced to a Mexico far deeper than the foreign eye is normally able to see. And I felt intellectually stimulated by the young man’s interior debate as he gradually finds a more open, more possible world-view.
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