While I love digging around for the history behind a story, film or song, I'm actually not a big fan of spoiling the mystery. Some of my favorite books and films have fantastic histories behind them that I find fascinating to explore, but at the same time I don't necessarily want to peel back the onion so much that I lose the magic I feel while enjoying them. So it's with a bit of trepidation that I'm writing this post, but at the same time if some of you really do want to dig down deeper (at your own risk) then who am I to hide my source material?
That said, there were a TON of different things that influenced the story of The Wash, but when it came to the stories and clues the characters begin to piece together, I relied on four books. Here they are and just remember, The Wash is a work of fiction. Therefore, I borrowed bits from here and there. Anyone looking for clues to where the real stones are buried will have to look elsewhere.
The Myths of Mexico and Peru by Lewis Spence
My copy of this book is so dog-eared, highlighted and notated that you'd think I was taking a college class on the subject. It was originally published in 1913, but Barnes and Noble reprinted it in 2005. It's very dry reading, but is packed with information. Spence doesn't waste time with flowery writing, so read it at your own risk.
Myths and Legends of the North American Indians by Lewis Spence
Do you see a trend here? Spence published this one in 1914. I ran across my copy at a used bookstore. It was republished in 2004. Again, nothing particularly flowery here but if you like reading myths and legends, it's a pretty good resource.
Mexican Folk Tales by Anthony John Campos
This is a very short book published in 1977 by the University of Arizona Press. It's split into three sections (Legends of the Devil, The Strange Doings of the Saints and The Foibles of Man and Beast). Robert's story of the poor man and the bandit's gold comes from this book.
Parallel Myths by J.F. Bierlein
This is hands down my favorite of the books I read while researching The Wash. While I really only pulled from it for one conversation between J.B. and Robert, it basically informed my whole outlook on how to bring this story together. Bierlein splits his book up in sections based on types of myths (Flood myths, Creation myths, etc.) and then points out all of the similarities between cultures that are separated by thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) of miles. It's a fascinating read.
Other than those four, the only other book I can point you to would be Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. It's an exploration of the Mormon religion that is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read. In fact, I highly recommend every book I've read by Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven and Classic Krakauer).
And that, folks, is all you're going to get out of me. I'm not about to tell you what's real versus what's made up. There's just no fun in that.
If you haven't read The Wash yet, you can find it right here at my Amazon authors page in both ebook and soft cover. I hope you enjoy it.
