Alfredo Vea

This novel never fails to leave me in an entirely other world once the last page is read. The strength of the relationships between Josefina and everyone around her, her grandson not least, is very definitely the backbone of this work. It is fleshed out in the stories of the people who populate this world, the human slag heap outside of Phoenix, Arizona in the 1950's. There are small enclaves of people from almost everywhere, and their interactions, or lack thereof, inform the life of the small boy through whose actions and eyes this story is mostly told.
I first read this novel for a Chicano Literature class and have re-read it with chilled spine and trembling hands once a year since then. It is a tremendous work that serves to reconnect me with the bones and sinews of truly wonderful storycraft.… (mer)