LATINO BOOK CLUB

September 2010 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

2010-09-12T11:35:00.001-04:00

What do you think of Junot Diaz's much awaited novel (ten years)?
There are so many narratives at the same time, in spite of it being titled the "life of Oscar Wao." Oscar's mother Beli, the narrator "Yunior" (haven't we seen that name before in DROWN, mmm...), and of course the long foot notes, which take us into the history of Trujillato, and also other interesting cultural references, which would be unknown to a reader unless you are a Dominican from that generation or a Sci-Fi nerd.
It is a very interesting read. The language, however shocking for the prude soul, is very refreshing.

August 2010 Book Reading-Caramelo

2010-08-28T17:48:00.001-04:00

Check out the pictures from the event.

July 2010: Loverboys

2010-07-15T12:20:00.003-04:00

The Latino Book Cub meets on July 31st at Pomegranate Books to discuss Ana Castillo's Loverboys.

Discussion is open. Please leave your comments:
Some Questions:
What do you think of her style?
What are some of your favorite characters?
Which story you liked the best?

I like her stream of consciousness style, just that one has to be focused to keep track of where the story started. Just like when we are in a conversation, and we take off tangentially and then go "what was I saying" or "getting back to my story.
I also like that her gay characters are diverse, not just one lesbian or gay focus, but varied, also bisexuals.
Sometimes I don't get the story, or sometimes I just miss the point. She is a very interesting writer. I like Miss Rose!
-Amrita

Latino Book Club Survey Response

2010-06-23T11:02:00.002-04:00

The Latino Book Club Over-haul Survey is over. We had 11 respondents. Here are the final results. We hope to meet soon in July to plan our next step. I will be in touch.

The results:

FACEBOOK PAGE

Is it a good idea to have a Facebook page for Latino Book Club?

Y-7

N-4

If Latino Book Club were to have a facebook page would you visit it?

Y-6

N-5

Would you be willing to create and maintain the Facebook page?

Y-0

N-11

OTHER PROMOTION

Is it a good idea for the book club to have a promotion drive to target various other groups?

Y-6

N-3

No answer-2

Would you be willing to be actively part of the promotion drive?

Y-4

N-5

No answer-2

Would you like to organize the promotion drive?

Y-0

N-9

No answer-2

BOOK READING SERIES

Is it a good idea to have a Book Reading event?

Y-8

N-1

No answer-2

If there were a Book Reading event would you attend?

Y-7

N-2

No answer-2

Would you like to organize a Book Reading event?

Y-1

N-8

No answer-2

BOOK DISCUSSION-COFFEE HOUR (already in existence)

Would you be more likely to read a book and attend the discussion session if it were once every two months?

Y-7

N-2

No answer-2

OTHER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

There have been no new comments since the last post, which you may read below with my further comments.

Latino Book Club Overhaul 2010

2010-05-08T17:08:00.003-04:00

The survey is still open, but here are some of the comments/suggestions received. Below each comment is my comment.

Thank you all for taking the time to try and make Latino Book Club better.

1.* We should pass the word around to as many people but with ample time.
* Also; announce the readings earlier; this way if someone didn't finish the reading on time; they can catch up to the next or simply choose to skip when time is of essence. A 6 or 12 month advance schedule may help out people to organize their reading time.

I am not sure, if I understand the first part of the comment, therefore I will leave it. As for the second part, there is a tentative list, which can last us a few years, and it was passed around to the people who come regularly to the coffee hours. No one else has shown any interest (never asked about it or emailed for such a thing), and therefore I did not want to clutter everyone's email Inbox, but in the future I will be happy to send the list. It is important to remember that sometimes it is difficult to follow the list because I like to encourage other people to suggest readings, and then that book takes precedence over the list.

2. Review the list of participants and delete those who are no longer in Wilmington. Ask others if they want to remain on the list or not. Advertise at UNCW in classes; Centro Hispano; Womens'Resource Center; CFFLC; Puro Teatro to get a new membership base.Question: Do you want membership from UNCW community to be the base of the group or do you want it to be based on non-UNCW community persons? Or a mix?If it is UNCW focused; would more people attend if it were held on campus during the week?Meetings once every two months might be better.

If somebody has changed their email address and not provided a new one, they are dropped from the mailing list. I ask at the beginning of the a year if anybody wishes to be taken off the list.

The Latino Book Club was started with the intention to familiarize the Wilmington community of the Latino (US) literature and culture, and as UNCW is part of the town, anyone and everyone is welcome. At the beginning of the club's formation it was asked of the interested people, what was the best time for everyone to meet. It was simply impossible to find a time during the week that suited the majority, and therefore ONE Saturday afternoon of the month was chosen. We can only hope that more people will find the time now that we seem to be moving towards every other month.

When we organize the Promotion Drive, we will take into consideration all the options given in this suggestion. Thank you!

3. I think you have covered most of it.Good luck with other responses.Irene

Thanks Irene!

4. I would love to attend more often but Saturday afternoon does not work for me. I still buy the books and try to follow them at my own pace.

We understand that everyone cannot come to the coffee hour, but there are still many other ways to join us
1. Send your comments to me and I will share it with the group.
2. Post the comments on this blog spot (you don't need to sign up!)
3. Now that we will have a Facebook page and if you are on Facebook you can leave your comments there.
Check out our IN-PROGRESS Facebook page.

As long as you are reading, the mission is accomplished!

5. I am just sorry I have been so overwhelmed. I will be more active without three classes!

We will be glad to have you back!

6. I like the monthly meeting schedule. One book a month is not hard to fit in; and I think meeting every two months would make it easier to forget going.As for the Facebook page; although I do not use Facebook I think it would be a good idea to have since everyone else in the world but me uses it. It could be a great way to keep people posted on what we are doing (I know you already do that in other ways) and we could include photos of our meetings and events; if we hold any.

Some of us are faster readers than others, and I understand you love to see your friends more often. Don't worry I won't let you forget our events. Now that we will try and have other things you will still see us!
Good idea about the photos. Next time I will bring my camera. Thanks.

July 2010: Loverboys

2010-05-06T13:12:00.003-04:00

Latino Book Club is on a break and will meet next in July when we will discuss Ana Castillo's Loverboys.
In the meantine read this article about the Book Club in Star News.

Please remain tuned for further information.

March 2010: Cellophane

2010-03-01T11:38:00.007-05:00

Latino Book Club will meet on Saturday, March 27th at 3PM at Pomegranate Books to discuss Marie Arana's Cellophane.

Hear Marie Arana deliver the 2008 Key Note Address at the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the Library of Congress.

Marie Arana will visit UNCW on Thursday, March 25th. She is scheduled to give a talk at the Lumina Theater at 1PM. Her books American Chica, Cellophane, and Lima Nights will be available for sale and signing.

Discussion Questions
1. Nature vs. Man
The novel comments on Man's desire to control and exploit nature. The indigenous cultures of the Amazon live in harmony with nature. Victor Sobrevilla also has a give and take relationship with nature. He is not like the "termite" people nor like the rubber barons. He is not greedy, and therefore survives the Amazon, till he does.
2. Urban v. Amazon
This is a theme that is repeated a lot in the 19th century literature of Latin America. The debate "civilizacion y barbarie." The city is the center of Culture and decorum, controlled by the European creole population, and the Amazon is the habitat of the indigenous people, who are considered savage by the city dwellers.
3. Truth v. Secret
The distinction made by Yorumba. It is not a plague of telling the truth, it is a plague of telling secrets of desire. Truth is explained by the shaman, as something bigger.
4. Importance of history
Latin Americans look into their history, lineage to prove themselves. It is therefore important to have no scandals in your family history. Victor Sobrevilla questions this notion. He is what he is because he has worked hard for it, and therefore his father's questionable acts, and his death do not define him. Elsa, who is unable to understand this notion, unfortunately goes mad.
5. Desire?
Is it wrong to desire? Is it wrong to achieve more? When is it enough?

March 28th, 2010
Latino Book Club met yesterday at Pomegranate Books to discuss Marie Arana's Cellophane. It is a rather charming novel about the turmoils in the Sobrevilla-Francisco family, living in the paper making hacienda of Floralinda in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon. Arana who lived part of her life in the Amazon, brings to life the way-of-life in the hacienda, and also the cultures of the indigenous cultures.
There is a definite romantic element about situating a novel in the deep Amazon, but it refrains from exoticism. Living in the jungle is hard, yet Victor Sobrevilla is able to create a world with the basic needs available to the city dweller. He is smart enough to live in harmony with nature, taking his building materials from his environment, to build his house, and the paper created in his factory. There is an environmental message that engulfs the narrative. Anything in excess, or exploiting nature is seen as harmful, and cause of destruction. The indigenous cultures, in general are suspect of the white people who come from the city. They are the termite people, as they eat away the habitat of the people living in the jungle. Victor Sobrevilla is able to maintain a harmonious relationship with his environment for a long time, till his desire to make Cellophane becomes a reality. Victor Sobrevilla is befriended by a shaman, who respects the engineer, and tries to help him as much as possible.
The narrative abounds with magical realism. The very first use of it is the death of Miguelito and the dog. Miguelito, a young orphan is able to liberate the sick dog of his unstoppable cough by taking in his illness. (I am reminded of the Green Mile). Eventually they both die. This may be seen as an omen for things to come, or as the section title says the "Plague of Tongue." The coughing dog was a big distraction for everyone in the Sobrevilla-Francisco household. Its annoying sound brought everything to a standstill. The ceasing of the cough comes as a relief to all, and almost like a liberation. Padre Bernardo's unsolicited confession of having had an sexual affair with a woman, is the beginning of everyone liberating themselves of their deepest secrets. It seems to give everyone else the right to confess and free themselves of the secret they have so long tried to maintain. Doña Marina, Victor Sobrevilla, Tía Esther, Jaime, and Ignacio all openly speak up. The decorum maintained by this family, an appearance of civility is gone. On one hand, the fact that the family lives outside what is considered the normal center of civilization, the city, allows for this break down. In the jungle the people are free of the constant prying eyes of the "civilized" world. The Judeo-Christian concept of sin does not exist in this world, even though the people of Amazon have their own way of understanding excess. Victor Sobrevilla, a man of this "civilized" world understands decorum and tries his best to regain it, in spite of his own failings. Elsa Márquez, the only outsider is unable to take in all the impropriety of her father-in-law's affairs and his Chinese ancestry, and her mother-in-law's secret of being born of a priest. She goes mad, and seeks to return to the city.
The outing of secrets and desires also bring to light a constant issue that we see in Latin American and Latino novels, the question of lineage. Chinese were brought to the country to work as coolies in guano factories, and hence the name "Shit Shoveler." Interracial marriages with the Chinese is not seen as respectful in this world, just like marrying indigenous or black. The only character who openly accepts her Chinese heritage is Tía Esther, the single octogenarian.
The novel has a lot to offer and brings to question many issues. Even though progress and achieving engineering feats are seen as amazing, but desire in excess is seen as harmful. All that seems to matter at the end is family.

February 2010: Raining Backwards

2010-01-31T11:23:00.005-05:00

Latino Book Club will meet on Saturday, February 27th at 3pm at Pomegranate Books to discuss the Cuban American author, Roberto G. Fernández's Raining Backwards.

Discussion Questions
1. Exile
2. Magical Realism (the use of supernatural or magic, but presented and accepted as if part of the natural realm).
3. The non-chronological narration
4. Satire
5.The craziest character
6. Female sexuality

February 28th, 2010
Thank you Olga for coming out on Saturday. I almost thought I was going to be the only one there. I really enjoyed the discussion; we of course talked of so many things other than the book. Here is a short snippet of the many things we spoke of:
Exile
Roberto G. Fernández’s Raining Backwards captures the predicament of the Cuban exile very well. Even though the Cubans are satirized and their follies exposed, the novel brings alive the pain and anger of the Cubans who were deposed of their home with no possibility to return home. The two stories (which is what one may refer to the chapters in this novel, because of their completeness) that refer to a return to Cuba, end in irony- “Raining Backwards” and “Tatiana.” The former, which is also the title of the novel, is the story of the universal hope of man to die in his own home. Magical Realism, which is a technique used by Fernández many a times, is used to find in the harsh reality that magical moment, which allows us to keep believing. The latter tale is of Manny, now completely blind (even though in the first story he gets his sight back, thanks to the magical sap from the very angry Mr. Olsen's tree, also another example of Fernández use of Magical Realism) wanting to at least be able to face Cuba, even though he can’t see it any more. Both the tales are of a grandparent and grandchild; the younger one does not yet understand or realize why the elder wants to return to Cuba so badly. In “Raining Backwards” the grandchild understands, once he grows old and becomes a grand parent himself, and death approaches.

Language

Fernández loves to play with language, especially the silly translations into English, which only make sense if you are familiar with Spanish. “Vacillation” (vacilón-Having fun), “The Good Night” (La Noche Buena- Christmas Eve), the reference to the city in Cuba, Cienfuegos as the city of Hundred Fires are a few of the examples. The cultural references many a times, can only be understood by someone familiar with literature from the Spanish speaking cultures, for example the letter found on the dead body of Connie. The poem is the English translation of the 17^th century Mexican poet Sor Juana de la Inés’ well known “hombres necios,” but there abounds other cultural references to American popular literature as well, for example the reference to Superman. The Olsens are no other than Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, Superman’s lady love and pal respectively.

Non-linear narrative and development of characters

The novel does not follow a linear narrative, and has to be read in its totality to find the connections. It is almost like a jig-saw puzzle, keeping the reader on his or her toes, keeping the reader engaged. For those who do not like non-linear narrative there are stories which can be enjoyed just by themselves. There are so many crazy characters that one can enjoy the short vignettes, but it is fun to find out the whole story about them, even though it means reading bits and pieces, and many a times going backwards. Mirta Vergara is certainly my favorite. She is a character who embodies so many characteristics. Mirta like all the exiles wishes to return home, and in the impossibility of the situation prefers to re-create Cuba, with cat-litter and Alka-Seltzer in her own bath-room. Nostalgia is taken over by fiction, as Varadero beach becomes the site of her incomplete life. Telling the young Eloy tales of Cuba is like foreplay, which becomes a necessity to remain connected to Cuba. Her imagined rape by Eloy and later by other men are projections of her frustration enveloped in a sexual fantasy. It is so interesting that every time she tells one of her girl-friends about her rape, they just take it in like another story they tell each other with no consequences.

The novel has so much to offer and is certainly gives so much food for thought about exile, and the Latinos in the United States. Americans and their racist attitudes are also satirized. Female sexuality in the Cuban and the American culture is scrutinized. You can laugh out loud or simply let out a loud sigh. Fernández, of course a product of this culture knows what he writes, but he simply gets into their heads. I am reading this novel after a long time and I seem to enjoy it more. Maybe not the prefect book to be taught in high-school, but certainly great for the university class-room!

January 2010: Caramelo

2010-01-08T16:19:00.009-05:00

Feliz Año Nuevo to everyone!

We are starting our third year of the Latino Book Club, and we hope to continue to grow stronger with our love for books and the Latino culture.
Latino Book Club just concluded its first community project Book Drive 2009 in December 2009 collecting books for three local schools and their ESL programs. We are looking forward to doing many more projects involving reading and literacy and the Wilmington Latino Community. Please write back if you have ideas or want to volunteer.

As we begin this new year we will be reading Sandra Cisnero's multi-generational saga Caramelo.
We will meet on January 30th at 3PM at our favorite local book-store Pomegranate Books on the corner of Park and Kerr Avenue.

January 31st, 2010
Thanks to Lauren, and Lizzy for coming out yesterday on the awful day. We had a wonderful discussion along with the Mexican pastries and music. We overall liked the book. Neither of us had finished. Lauren of course was almost near the end. I had finished only the second part, and another 200 pages to go. Lizzy is in the second part. We all plan to finish the book, before we start the next one.

Discussion starters:
1. Who is your favorite character (other than Soledad/Awful Grandmother) and why?
Although we did not have one particular character to talk about, as there are so many and all have their own little interesting detail, but we did have a little chat about the nick-names. Of course it just seems to be part of the Mexican culture to have nick-names, if not a shortened form of your own name, something that emerges from either your physical attribute (or deformity as Lizzy puts it) or your personality. The use of the names in English-Awful grandmother, Baby, Fat Face, Light-Skinned, Little Grandfather, Uncle Old-seem rather odd. We did translate back some of them and they make sense-Niño, Güera, abuelito, Tío viejo, but the others we were stumped. The use of English serves two purposes, the reader for one may enjoy the meaning in English, and the bilingual reader can translate as we did. The other I see, is the little narrator Celaya and maybe her other US born siblings and cousins use to refer to the older folks, like a secret language.

2. The Awful Grandmother (she is a category herself)
The Awful Grandmother isn't that awful after all, or at least the term seems an exaggeration. The bossy nature is obvious in the first part of the novel, but one comes to realize that she was not always like that. Soledad, the grandmother, comes from a very humble background who was seduced by the son of the family she worked for. She would have had to be a single mother, if it hadn't been for her father-in-law/master, who forced his son to make it right, by marrying her. Of course she may have risen in social ranks, but she never received his amorous attention, which was reserved for other women. It is simply ironic that the woman who came from such humble backgrounds does not sympathize with other women with similar backgrounds, rather she is very judgmental. She is racist; she makes it very clear that the native Americans are lower than her. She is certainly classist; she mythifies her husband's Spanish family to her advantage. She proclaims that she is part of the noble lineage of the Reyes (from her husband's side, because her own family also Reyes, were humble weavers, who made rebozos). In her fight with her daughter-in-law she accuses Zoila of being Mexican-American, and therefore not a true Mexican, who had risen in social status by marrying Inocencio.
The second part of the novel, where the narrator Lala recounts the tale of the grand-mother's history, it becomes obvious in the conversations she is having with her grandmother that she is portraying Soledad as a bitter angry matriarch simply because it makes for a better story.

3. The rebozo
We did not discuss the 'rebozo' per se, but it was interesting to talk about the term 'caramelo,' which is used for the rebozo, and also for the skin color of many Mexicans, referring to their Native American blood. Lizzy, does not remember ever having heard the word 'caramelo' being used for what in U.S. Spanish is used for either 'caramel' or 'sweet.' She remembers the term 'cajeta' a kind of candy (from Celaya) to refer to the color/candy of the caramel color. Therefore it is interesting that 'caramelo' is used.
We had a few theories: 'caramelo' is more for a US audience, a cognate, it sounds better to a English reader, and the association with the sweetness or the 'exoticism' of the skin color is much more attractive than say 'cajeta.'
Another theory on my part is that she is trying to stretch the 'caramelo' reference from the rebozo to many other things. The narrator talks about a special kind of rebozo, which her great-grand-mother was making right before she died, and was then passed onto to Soledad. The color combination of the rebozo, led to its name of 'caramelo.'

4. The telling of Mexican history
The notes at the end of each chapter provide a great amount of information about Mexican History and Culture. Lauren, found them annoying as by the time she reached the end she had already forgotten what was the note about and therefore didn't read them. I think the fact that the notes are at the end of the chapter allows for the option to be read by the reader if interested, if not, it does not hinder the reading of the main story. A foot-note can be much more distracting. Lizzy felt that the notes told a lot about Mexican history and culture without making the reader feel ignorant. The anecdotal quality makes them fun to read on the side. Also Cisneros or the narrator is able to bring together many cultural icons and images into the narrative. Lizzy, of course being of Mexican ascendancy was able to identify many of the images, and the music that she hated when young, now has a greater appreciation for. She also had some music to go with our discussion to show what it must have felt in the story, when they were either singing or listening to the songs.
5. Spanglish
Of course the novel is sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases, but most of them are either explained or translated within the narrative, which I hoped wasn't going to be too much. In the third part, Lauren observes it gets worse. As a bilingual reader, I of course would have enjoyed it if the Spanish were just left the way they are, without a translation, but I can understand Sandra Cisneros wouldn't sell. She is after all one of the few Latina authors to have success in the anglo-phone market because she used a more 'standard' English in her first book The House on the Mango Street. But it is also interesting to note that she uses direct phrase which she does not translate-'God squeezes, but does not drown' (Dios apreta pero no ahorca), or 'Without mother, without father, without even a dog to bark' (She uses the Spanish idiom in the title of the same chapter-22).

October 2009: Creepy Creautres and Other Cucuys

2009-10-14T20:59:00.004-04:00

Latino Book Club will meet on October 31st to discuss Xavier Garza's Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys at Pomegranate Books at 3pm.

Some questions for us to ponder upon:
1. Which creepy story is your favorite?
Irene's favorite was "The Lechuza Lady" were the husband refuses to listen to his wife and insists on going out to drink. The Lechuza (Owl) lady is the angry mother of a son killed by a drunk driver. MADD might have a Mexican tale supporting their efforts.
Cathy still remembers her grandfather scaring them as children with scratching of this nails. Many of the tales in the collection have the hand of the dead man coming through the wall to get his victim.

2. Have heard or read another version of these tales?
Speaking of versions, to begin with Olga pointed out that in her native country, Mexico the term used for "things that go bump in the night" is "Cuco" and not "Cucuys," the term used on this side of the Rio Grande.
Of course Llorona, which has two versions in the collection is probably one of the most popular folk myth of the mother looking for her dead children. The version that I have heard is of a mother with no help, single and poor, unable to care for her children, kills them out of desperation and then kills herself. Her spirit haunts looking for her children and crying for them. She picks up living children claiming to be hers. So a tale used by parents to warn their kids of the dangers of wandering away.
It is also interesting to read Sandra Cisneros "Woman Hollering Creek" the story in the collection of the same name, which deconstructs the lamenting, crying woman "Llorona" to the hollering woman "Gritona."
The Chupacabra is more of a mythical figure and more popular in Puerto Rico, where animals are feared to be killed by these strange creatures.

3. Do you know of similar tales from other cultures?
Llorona, the woman who steals children, is a common theme in other cultures: Robachicos in Mexico, Boogey Man in the Anglo world.
In the Indian (Asian) culture as well I grew up listening to ghost stories, a part of many oral tradition cultures. They are ways to warn of things that we don't understand within our rational, logical way of life. They are how natural justice functions, a way of warning people to not stray from the path of justice.

The collection of stories is certainly written for kids, and the style is very simplistic, to the point of being just too simple. Yet it was a great conversation for Halloween and on the eve of Día de los muertos, when all dead people are invited back to the realm of the living.
I must mention this lullaby that Olga sung to us. Of course this would be considered completely inappropriate in the culture of the US.
"Duérmete mi niño
duérmete me ya
porque viene el cuco
ya te comerá."

Just in case you don't read Spanish:
"Sleep my child
Sleep now
because the cuco is coming
it will eat you up."

This is the last blog for this year. We will meet back up in January to start our third year. We will be reading Sandra Cisneros Caramelo.

September 2009: Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.

2009-09-05T16:56:00.004-04:00

Latino Book Club will meet September 26th at 3 at Pomegranate Books, on the corner of Kerr and Park to discuss Luis Rodríguez' Always Running.

Topics for discussion, courtsey Irene:

1. How does family life influence the attraction of gang life to young adults.

2. How does education(or lack of) fail these young adults.

3.How did the walk-out change the LA schools.

4.What part did the L.A. police officers play in gang wars?

5.What changes occurred in Luis's life to change him.

Despite the rains we had Lizzy, Lauren and I meet at the cozy and comfy Pomegranate Books. Always Running was enjoyed by all of us. It is interesting how a personal life could read so much like a "novel."One just does not expect so much to happen to just one person. We all felt that Luis Rodriguez' life is certainly very inspirational and that he is what he is because he put his heart and mind into it. He may have had some help from some of the people in his life, but he made all the decisions to get out of the gang life. It does feel that he always had a way out-the violence was not that bad that one would have to die if they wanted out of it, as is the case in many instances.
Rodriguez' writing style is very fluid, and I don't want to use "poetic" because that conjures images of beauty. In this case, even though it is about violence and kids with no guidance and facing racism at every turn, there is this feeling of hope, a feeling of calm, that seems to emerge from the writing.
The comparison to Piri Thomas is of course inevitable as we read the book in our series and also because Rodriguez talks of it as one the books that changed his life. Thomas' style is much coarse and stylistically matches the street life he describes. Rodriguez does not take that route. L.A. in the 60s was certainly the time to be for the Chicano Movement. It was just the other side of the gangs. Gangs were groups to belong to, but acted out through violence and other anti-social behavior, where as MeCHA and the Chicano Movement in itself was another group to which one could belong and actually bring a change the way people see Mexican Americans and other ethnic minorities.
Also a note aside, Tía Chucha the crazy aunt, the inspirational aunt, is the name of Luis Rodriguez' Press which helps kids publish their writings and find an alternative to life. As Lauren, said, Rodriguez seems to begin with her and end with her. Tía Chucha is the outlet for all the craziness trapped inside of the young kids.

Next month we read Xavier Garza's Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys. This will be our way of celebrating the season! Read the newsletter.

August 2009: The World in Half

2009-08-06T10:50:00.005-04:00

Latino Book Club will meet August 29th to discuss Cristina Henríquez' The World in Half at 3PM at Francesco's Cafe.

Themes of discussion:
1. Daughter-Mother Relationship: In many of the books we have read, we find a typical/stereotypical Latina mother who will do anything for the child. The mother is the caring parent till the end. Here of course the mother is not Latina, but the roles seem to have reversed. The child is the caretaker. As the daughter is still very young, in her 20ies, it is a hard job, and the frustration comes through. It is certainly one of the first we have seen. For comparison sake here are some mother-daughter(child) relationships we have seen before: Geographies of Home, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, What Night Brings, Rain of Gold.

2. Child and the Missing Parent: I was almost mad at Mira for not looking for her father, and frolicking with the good-for-nothing Danilo, till Hernán and Danilo's concern about disappointment seem to calm my anxiety. It is interesting to read how Mira imagines her father's way of being.

3. Language: I thought it was interesting that the author includes Mira's Spanish limitations, even though writing in English, to constantly remind that the conversations are taking place in another language other than the one used to narrate them.

4. The Title: The World in Half refers to the Panama Canal dividing the Americas into 2 separate land masses, and Mira's life.

5. The Geographical Metaphors: Don't forget to take a look at the titles of each chapter. Earth's history and human history is a profound philosophical comparison.

Looking forward to other comments.

August 29th, 2009
Lauren, Lizzy, Irene, Cathy, Olga and I met at our usual meeting place. It was the last time at that place, as we had all noticed that the service had deteriorated, especially one of the server wasn't very "happy" to be there. So we decided that we would move to our initial intended place: The Pomegranate Books at the corner of Kerr and Park. Kathleen, the owner of the store kindly agreed to make the space available and also have the next months' book available for us to pick up when we meet there.

For ONCE, we all agreed that we all liked the book, although we had trouble with some things.
WHO IN HER RIGHT MIND GOES AND LIVES WITH TWO GUYS SHE DOES NOT KNOW! What did our mothers teach us about not speaking with strangers. In spite of the fact that Mira thinks that Danilo and his uncle are NICE people, one does not go and live with them.

Another that I had not put in the THEMES above, was Danilo. He got a lot of our talk-time. He seemed like a sweet guy and even though he comes across as the useless vagabond, but he redeems himself with his drawings, in abandonment tale, and of course the letters that he writes to Mira. It was refreshing to see that it does not end up in a clichéd "love-affair."

Irene thought that may Germán was the father! That was the reason he invited Mira. I guess Irene was trying to rationalize Mira's living with strange men.

We did have some disagreement with how the mother dealt with her affair and her family. Some said why didn't she leave her family and when she did why did she continue to be so hard and distant from the daughter and also Mira's real father. The others thought that it isn't easy for people to change completely, having been brought up in a style of living. I would think that Mira's grandparents weren't the best role models for Mira's mother, and hence we do not see any outward show of love.

Also, we thought her prose was beautiful. Henríquez has a style of writing which flows easily. Her geographical metaphors worked for some of us but not for all, but we were open to reading something by her.

Next time we will be reading Luis Rodríguez' Always Running. That will be a drastic change. The e-newsletter is available now.

July 2009: Ask a Policeman: A Rafe Buenrostro Mystery

2009-07-01T00:01:00.004-04:00

Latino Book Club will meet on July 25th to discuss Rolando Hinojosa's Ask a Policeman at 3 pm.

A rather different book from our earlier ones, yet a very pertinent one to the US-Mexico border issue, and an old one too. No, it is not immigration, it is drug-trafficking.This novel is of course much lighter than many of our earlier novels, even though it deals with a very serious problem of drug trafficking. Reading this novel, published in 1998 these days when the drug wars are at its height in Mexico, after the death of the main drug lord, makes it so real and current. A colleague of mine who specializes in Colombian literature, always reminds his students that the drug problem is not simply a Colombian issue, rather much closer to home, one in Mexico. Of course the problem is also very American where the market demands the trafficking. Reading this novel one may be reminded of the movie Traffic, which if you have not seen, is a must see among the Hollywood films about this topic (brilliant acting by Benicio del Toro and Michael Douglas). Of course in the movie the American side was led by a White American dealing with his own problems with a drug addicted daughter, unlike Rafe who is Mexican American, very much in tune with the Mexican culture.

It actually makes the novel humorous when Rafe and his Mexican counterpart play along with the American District Attorney, who is unaware of the cultural norm of exchanging pleasantries and asking about families' well being before jumping into business, unlike American mainstream culture which keeps personal out of business. I also enjoyed the fact that the Mexican Director of Public Order of Barrones is a woman. I look forward to hearing from the others about the characters Rafe Buenrostro and Lu Cetina.

25th July 2009
Latino Book Club members Lizzy, Cathy, Irene, and I met at our usual place and discussed Hinojosa's Ask a Policeman. We all agreed that it was an easy and fast read, just like a good detective novel should be. In spite of the fact that it was "light" the drug issue was very current. One thing that was pointed out was the senseless killing. The Goméz family go on a killing spree, which includes their own family. It tells of the complete lack of human connection in favor of making hordes of money quickly and illegaly. The arms that are used in the killings are coming from the United States as is the demand for drugs. The series of senseless killings is topped by the erotica-murder-suicide filmed by the Goméz son and delivered to the police. All this talk led us to discuss other books that depict such senseless killing, outside the drug world. Lizzy pointed out Teresa Rodríguez' Las hijas de Juárez. It is based on Rodríguez' investigative reporting of a true incident of multiple deaths of women in Juárez. You can read about it on Univision's Webpage.
Another book that takes a look at senseless mass killing is Jorge Ibargüengoitias Las muertas, a fictionalized story based on the brothel murders known as the "Las Poquianchis" incident in the state of Guanajato, Mexico. It uses dark humor to counter the macabre incident.

Although Olga wasn't there to initiate the topic she suggested about assimilation vs. acculturation, we did get to discuss it. Assimilate, which is a term defined in Cultural Studies as taking on the culture of the mainstream, leaving behind, or loosing one's original cultural habits. In cultural studies assimilation sees cultures in hierarchy, and therefore to assimilate is to consider one better than the other, and therefore has a negative connotation. This led to a very interesting observation by Cathy of involuntary assimilation vs. voluntary assimilation. She is Mexican American (although Cathy Murphy, does not say so, like millions of other Mexican Americans), but does not speak Spanish, something she says that she would love to speak and understand, but it was not a choice she made, nor one her parents did, who could not speak Spanish either. She sees herself assimilated, but perhaps, not by choice. On the other hand I spoke of how a graduate classmate of mine of Ecuadorian heritage would only speak in English to her kids, so they would assimilate with the mainstream US culture. Here is an example of voluntary assimilation, where the child who could have learnt Spanish and more of the Ecuadorian culture is denied the opportunity, even when it is easily accessible. If you have comments or thoughts, please comment.

Moving on to our next month, we will be reading Cristina Henríquez' The World in Half. You can read more about the book and the author in this months e-newsletter. This is the first Panamanian American author in our list. Also for fast readers, we wanted to let you know that in September we will be reading Luis Rogríguez' Always Running.
Happy readings!

June 2009: The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters

2009-06-01T01:10:00.006-04:00

Latino Book Club meets on June 27th at Francesco's Cafe on Kerr Ave. to discuss Lorraine Lopez' The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters.

1. Your favorite sister and why?
Everybody liked Lorreta, of course she is the most independent one and carves a place in her life. Another thing that we did not discuss in the book club meeting is Lorreta's sexual preference. Her being a lesbian is presented in a way as should be, as something normal, but what struck me is how it was not a big deal in a Latino family.

2. Which of the four gifts would you rather have?
This was certainly anti-climactic. One feels cheated by Bette. To think all your life that you have a gift of curses that can kill people and one day you are told that it is just a joke told by your big sister. The big sister has some explaining to do, which she doesn't in this book.

June 29th, 2009

This past Saturday the Latino Book Club members- Lizzy, Jacquie, Donna, Cathy, Irene, and our guests Chris and Naya (Irene’s sister and her grand-daughter, visiting from LA) - met at our regular coffee shop. We had a hard time giving the book The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters a “grade,” as we felt that as a concept, the story, the relationship between the sisters, the Hopi history was really well crafted, but by the end of it all it fell apart. I can only say that the ending about the gifts and the adult lives of the sisters are anti-climactic. All through the story the reader is led to believe that the sisters have magical gifts, till suddenly Bette, one with the gift to tell lies, says it is a lie that she told. It is hard to understand why, and how no one, especially the sister who supposedely had the gift to curse people to their death did not react. To live all your childhood and young adult life thinking you have killed someone is a horrible pain to suffer.

On the other hand the documentation of the Hopi culture certainly gives a fresh flavor to the stories we have read. Read the comment by the author below about including the Hopi tradition in the novel. The colonization and the brutal treatment of the Hopis by the Spanish are ironic and give a glimpse into the history and power domination of the south-west. To see how the Latino population has become the oppressed one in the lands they settled in. It is the history of power and colonization. Others are welcome to comment on our blog site.

Even though we have mixed feeling about the book, at least we are very happy that the author Lorraine Lopez took the time to send such detailed well thought responses. We wish her all the best.

Moving on to our next month’s book, please read the June e-newsletter for more information. We will be reading Rolando Hinojosa’s Ask a Policeman. It is the first detective novel for our club, and I thought it will be an interesting change for the summer. The Public Library has a copy and you can also order it through Pomegranate Books http://pomegranate.booksense.com/

The Book Drive is coming along and as soon as we are ready to launch we will send out more information to all book club members.

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Lorraine Lopez the author of the book has agreed to answer questions about the book. We look forward to get a glimpse of how an author creates his or her art. Please enjoy.

Some questions for the author by Donna:

1. In the Gifted Gabaldon Sisters, you weave a rich tapestry of fiction, nonfiction, and traditions from various cultures and then tie it together so effortlessly that it lifts the reader past their preconceived ideas of those cultures. What was your inspiration for writing about the magic and drama you so aptly portray with these characters?

First of all, thank you for noticing the multi-textual structure and multi-genre presentation of the novel and gracias for your opinion that I succeeded with this framework. When drafting the novel, I thought it important to create many layers and many sources of story to deepen and expand the narrative. This entailed a great deal of research, and it acquainted me with the “iceberg” principle behind research used in fiction. Only a small percentage of the material I gathered ended up in the book, but I had to have the base in order to present that tip. So, indeed, I learned how Hopi women wheeled their hair in “butterfly whorls,” the onerous and labor intensive rituals performed before marriage, what kinds of myths and legends were and are still being told, and as much as I could about the world as it was when Fermina was a child. I also had to investigate the WPA reports, and my research led me into some intrigue, wherein a rather controlling director of the project routinely suppressed reports that did not honor a particular vision of the past, and I was able to use this as well. I also had to research Los Angeles from the 1960s to the present to portray the cultural, geographic, and historic context correctly, or as correctly as possible. This took a tremendous amount of time, but I acquired an amazing wealth of information about the world of the novel in this process, and I am relieved that, from your point of view, it was successful.

My inspiration for the book was rather pragmatic, but also borne of a seed sewn by family history that I uncovered. I decided to use the multi-textual approach and the multiple perspectives to tell the story because I worried that I would not be able to sustain a single perspective in relaying a narrative as complex as this. Insofar as the spark for the work goes, years ago I was stunned to learn that my paternal grandfather was the biological son of the man he thought was his uncle and a Pueblo woman who worked in his grandparents home, a Native American servant. This woman actually had two children. Her son was adopted by his biological father’s brother and wife who were childless, but the daughter was sent to an asilo de huerfanos (an orphan asylum). This bit of family history saddened and intrigued me. I wanted to imaginatively revisit and recreate that time. I wondered what if things had been a bit different and what if my grandfather’s birthmother could tell her story. What kind of story would she tell and how would it be told so as to be preserved for later generations? This was the impetus for the novel.

2. The interaction of family members was raw, and clean. Did you draw from your own childhood experiences with family members? Or did the characters come to you completely fleshed out with their individual personalities waiting for you to chisel out the parts you wanted for this story?

I believe I draw on three critical sources or braid three distinctive strands together when writing fiction: 1) imagination, 2) experience, and 3) imaginative experience gained from literature I have read. For this novel, the characters all seem to represent elements of myself as well as information about human interaction that I acquired growing up in a large family. The family dynamic I observed certainly informs my writing, but the fictional family soon took on a life of its own and a distinctly separate dynamic. There is no way to convey all the nuance, depth, and complexity that comprises a living human being, so these characters consist of glimpses informed by my imagination, my experience, and that imaginative experience I’ve gained from reading, and in that order.

3. The story implies that women are better off without men. And it also raises the issues women face at many ages with sexual predators. Do you feel women are sexually preyed upon in all cultures, ages, economic standing and nationalities? If so how can they empower each other as they did in your story?

I would like to think the story suggests that some women are better off without men, like Sophia and Bette, but Loretta is very fond of her brother, and Rita is clearly better off with Rafe. On a personal note, like Rita, I do a lot better when my husband is around. Perhaps my message is that not all women are better off with men as our culture seems to suggest. Marriage, to me, does not automatically mean a happy ending.

As to the second part of this question, I would like to avoid generalization, but I believe that as long as there is an unfair power dynamic, conditions present themselves that can be conducive to predatory behavior. I also believe that without equality, there can be no true intimacy between the partners. The exception to this, of course, would be found in healthy relationships between parents and their children.

Typically, in our culture and my subculture, men have been empowered and women dominated by men. Thus conditions for abuse and predation on the part of the more powerful group—men—have been prevalent.

The culture I emerge from is known for patriarchal relationships. Machismo is a term coined by Spanish speakers when describing this dynamic. I had the unusual experience of growing up in a matriarchal home. That is to say, my mother was in charge. She and my father both worked, but she handled the money, she made important decisions, she disciplined all of us—including my father, and she was the unchallenged leader in our home. In my father’s home, the same dynamic occurred. His mother ruled her twelve children and husband. To go back to my previous statement: In these homes, I witnessed how a matriarchal household can be as stifling and oppressive to the individual (male or female) as a patriarchal home.

4. Have you considered writing, or have you written any books for young adult readers? (ages 6-13) I would think they would benefit significantly from your courageous portrayal of their struggles and fears.

Thank you for this great question! My second book, Call Me Henri (Curbstone Press, 2005), is a young adult novel about a thirteen-year-old boy who is an immigrant from Mexico. It’s set in Pacoima, California, where he is an ESOL student who would like to study French, though he is prevented from doing this because, according to the teachers and administrators at his school, he must first learn English. My next project that I intend to begin next year is another young adult novel (working title: “The Vidalia Onion Queen”). This will be the story of Flor, a character who appears in Call Me Henri. She is the child of immigrant farm workers who relocate to the South. Flor really caught hold of my imagination and she will not let go.

Currently, I have a book of short stories coming out this fall from BkMk Books. The collection is titled “Homicide Survivors Picnic.” And I also have a collection of essays I have edited for the University of Michigan Press coming out in December. That book is titled “An Angle of Vision: Women Writers on Their Poor and Working Class Roots.” This work presents powerful personal essays and memoir on social class and gender by writers including Dorothy Allison, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, and Judith Ortiz Cofer, among others. And right now, I am working to finish another novel for HBGUSA/Grand Central Press, which brought you The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters. This novel is titled “Limpieza,” a word that refers to the Santeria practice of clearing evil spirits out of a physical space, and I’m having a great time writing it. It will be out this coming spring.

Again, I send abundant thanks for reading my book and for your interest in the work. These are thought-provoking questions that I enjoyed answering.

May 2009: Lost City Radio

2009-05-01T10:06:00.002-04:00

Latino Book Club meets on May 30th at 3 pm at Francesco's Cafe on Kerr Ave, to discuss Daniel Alarcon's Lost City Radio. Please send your comments or leave them here at our blog site.

1. Should Latinos growing up in the United States be writing of Latin American issues?

June 15th 2009
Sorry for the late post. I got back last week from India and was glad to hear that Irene, Cathy, Lizzy and Jacquie met on May 30th to discuss Lost City Radio. Lizzy wrote back to me saying,
"The general consensus was that we were not crazy about the book. I did not dislike it but it was not my favorite. I think we all felt lost, which I consider the point of the book - to give us a feeling of the chaos and confusion during war. We all agreed that one thing we did not like is that the book did not elicit an emotional response toward any of the characters. Irene also had an interesting observation: religion and the Church were never mentioned in this book. In the other books we have read religion plays a significant role in the lives of the characters."

This is certainly one of the very different books we have read. The author is a trained anthropologist, and we are dealing with a Civil War in a country, a theme that we have not touched upon in any of our books and moreover it is not about the Latinos of the United States.

April 2009: Dreaming in Cuban

2009-04-01T01:25:00.003-04:00

The Latino Book Club meets on April 25th at Francesco's Cafe at 3PM.

Some topics of discussion:

Who is "crazier" Celia, Felicia, or Lourdes?

Celia's unsent letters to the "love of her life."

Santeria/ Regla de ocho

---
26th April 2009

Latino Book Club met yesterday. Thanks to Donna, Lizzy, Irene, Cathy, and Olga for coming out. We had a wonderful discussion. We all agreed that Felicia is the "craziest." She burns her first husband Hugo, who gave her syphilis, the second Ernesto died soon after she married him, and Otto was supposedly pushed off the roller coaster by Felicia.
All the characters' life represents an unfulfilled dream or promise: a metaphor for Cuba's situation. The unfulfillment is represented through the failed human relationships.
Celia's love Gustavo goes back to Spain to fight in the Civil War (which was lost by the Republicans: the liberal group), Celia's new hope "El Lider" does not bring the desired change everyone hoped to Batista's Cuba, and finally she loses her family to exile, death or moving away.
Lourdes is raped by the Revolutionary soldiers and she exiles to Brooklyn. She also loses her unborn son.
Javier's wife elopes with another man and takes their daughter, and he returns to Cuba from Czechoslovakia to get lost in Cuba.
Felicia is of course THE representation of unfulfillment. She turns to Santeria to find her future, but she is unable beat her inevitable death.

Moving on to May: There is a change in the book we had chosen earlier. Instead we will be reading the Peruvian American Daniel Alarcon's Lost City Radio. This is set in an unnamed country in Latin America. Please read the e-newsletter.

We will also be reading Lorraine López' The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters in June. It is a good summer read.

We will also meet for the Book Drive meeting on Tuesday 27th April at 3 pm in Leutze Hall 103 at UNCW. I hope you will join us or volunteer to participate in it.

Happy Reading!

Amrita

LATINO BOOK CLUB'S BOOK DRIVE

2009-03-31T17:39:00.006-04:00

THE IDEA:
The book drive is an idea that emerged from Marcio's suggestion at the first meeting of the Book Club to donate the books read in our club to school children. As we have entered into our second year and we have been going strong with 30+ members. I thought it was time we expand our love for books to students in local schools and ESL programs. We all are in some way or the other involved with the Latino cultures and of course would love to help Latino kids, but I think if our book drive can reach as many kids as possible, irrespective of their race or ethnicity, it will be a success.

THE PLAN:
This is where I need help. I have contacted Eleni Pappamihiel, a member of the Latino Book Club and also a Professor of Education at UNCW. She has been kind enough to get us in touch with three local schools who have all shown interest in our plan and be the target programs. These schools are: Williston Middle School, Hoggard High School, and Mary C. Williams Elementary School.

Now we need to figure out the next step. Please send your comments.
NEXT MEETING: 28th April 3 PM Leutze Hall 103.

March 2009: Rain of Gold

2009-02-28T19:23:00.006-05:00

The Latino Book Club meets March 28th to discuss Victor Villaseñor's Rain of Gold.

March 31st, 2009
The Latino Book Club met this Saturday at Francesco’s Cafe to talk about Victor Villaseñor’s Rain of Gold. Thanks to Lizzy, Cathy, and Irene. I am sorry I could not make it this time, but I have received great reviews. Everyone enjoyed the book, and must I add that there is a cultural bias here, but I do agree with them that the “folksy” feeling makes it very appealing and inviting.
Irene writes:
Everyone agreed ,they enjoyed the book.Loved the folksy,family feeling of the book.How different from the Dominican,Puerto Rican,Cuban,experience.How important Dona Margarita and Dona Guadalupe were in the family...strong matriarchs..very religious(but,we all agreed that it was the Indian spiritualism,that entered into it)how loving and nurturing the mothers were,thru all of the tremendous challenges in their lives.The importance of education,Salvador and Lupe's love...Also,how Salvado's mother explains the prejudice regarding "color" and what we can do regarding this topic,that runs thru all of the stories we have read. There is just too much!!!!

Cathy writes:
"I LOVED this book! (but truth be told I have not finished it either) almost done though. Anyway I agree whole heartedly with "Irene". The love and respect each of the families had for one another was very touching. They all went through so much but never lost hope and even when things went bad they continued to pray! I think it was Lizzy who stated that the families did not just pray, they actually lived their beliefs - truly inspirational. Oh and the love between Salvador and Lupe - oh my goodness - it makes the heart pound! I can't wait to finish to see how everything turns out!! I give this one an A! "

Moving on to the next book. We will be reading Cristina Garcías, Dreaming in Cuban.
“Latino Book Club’s Book Drive” is the next project for our book club. I have already spoken to some of you of the idea, but would like to extend the idea to the whole group.(Read our e-newsletter) Please send your ideas and opinions. I would like to meet sometime this month to start work on this project.

As I had promised in my last email I am glad to let you all know that the Public Library has responded favorably to our request to acquire books read in our club. In spite of their budget restrictions they will work with us. I will get in touch with them soon. That would also mean that it will help us to plan out our future books. Please send suggestions.

I hope everybody enjoys reading Dreaming in Cuba, and it seems that traveling to Cuba without any restrictions will soon be a reality.
Amrita

February 2009: Geographies of Home

2009-01-31T21:25:00.003-05:00

Latino Book Club meets for its coffee hour on Saturday, 28th February.

Some topics:

1. Religion
2. The most interesting member of the family

28th February
Latino Book Club met today. Thanks to Irene, Cathy, Kathy, Lizzy, Annetta (who joined us for the first time) and our newest member Donna Treolo, for coming out on an awful rainy day like today. Also, thanks to Olga for sending her comments.

We talked about Loida Maritza Perez’ Geographies of Home. The novel has a lot of things that one can talk about and we did: dysfunctional families, domestic violence, poverty, mental illness, and religions (yes, that was a really interesting discussion). None of us knew much about Seventh Day Adventist, but we did figure out that it is a very “strict” way of being. If you know more, please enlighten us by leaving your comments on the blog.

It did lead us to talk about other religions and also the folk forms that we see in the novel (Caribbean/Dominican) and had seen earlier in Bless me, Ultima (South Western/ Mexican).
Despite being a serious and dark in many aspects we enjoyed it. From the technical aspect too, this novel offers quite a bit, in the way things and actions are described and how many of the chapters seem complete in themselves. Some of the characters are simply just so well developed that you actually see them right in front of your eyes.

Moving on to next month- we are reading Victor Villaseñor’s Rain of Gold.
In April we will read Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban and in May Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan. (We will need an anthropologist to lead us through this one).

We are running out titles. Please send us books that you have wanted to read or have heard about. Our only criterion is that it has to be a Latino author of the United States writing in English.

Also, if you remember we had learnt that the public library did not carry any of the books we are reading. Kathy spoke with the NH Public Library and they have agreed to acquire some of the titles. Please send your recommendations, for the must have books.

January 2009: Dark Dude

2008-12-24T19:15:00.004-05:00

Watch an interview with the author of Dark Dude, Oscar Hijuelos.

The Latino Book Club meets again on Saturday, 31st January at our usual joint: Francesco's Cafe.

Latino Book Club met for the first time this year this afternoon, and our good old faithful members Irene, Lizzy, Olga, and Cathy came out to Francesco's Cafe.
We all unanimously agreed that Oscar Hijuelos' Dark Dude did not meet our expectations and in Cathy's words we gave a grade of "D for the Dark Dude." This is Hijuelos' first attempt to write for teenagers, and maybe only teenagers should read this book, but we felt teenagers deserve better. Sorry for the harsh criticism but none of the issues of racism or drugs, etc actually came across. Hijuelos seems to try to aspire to create a Huck' Finn kind of character, but sorry to say Twain would have had a few interesting words to say if he read this book.
We certainly would like to hear from the rest of our 25 members. Please drop in a line on our blog site.

We are looking forward to our next month's read which was recommended by a colleague of mine: Loida Maritza Perez' Geographies of Home.

October 2008: What Night Brings

2008-10-18T12:27:00.003-04:00

Latino Book Club meets on Saturday 25th to talk about Carla Trujillo's What Night Brings.

This update is coming a little late as I got caught up with school-work, but I am happy to write that we met last Saturday to talk about Carla Trujillo’s What Night Brings. Thanks to Kathy Humphrey, Irene, Lizzy, and our newest member Kathy Murphy (she is Irene’s daughter) for coming out on Saturday.
This book received an overall B grading. Lizzy wasn’t sure exactly what grade she would give it, and I who had not read it completely, had to abstain, but I think this book certainly needs to be finished. Kathy Murphy who grew up in LA felt very close to the character as she identified with some of the issues the adolescent protagonist Marci went through her life, except certainly the abusive father, and Irene, her mother vouched for it.
This was the last time we met this year but we will meet back up again in January with Oscar Hijuelos’ Dark Dude and in February with Loida Maritza Perez’ Geographies of Home. You will be receiving the next e-newsletter close to the end of December this year with information for the first book. I hope you will be able to catch up on some of the readings in the next two months and the holidays. If you are thinking of gifting a book you certainly have many choices.
Finally I also wanted to mention that of the ten times that we have met this year Irene and Olga have been the most regular members and Lizzy is right behind them. Since Kathy Humphrey joined she has not missed one book. Thanks for coming and keep reading.
Have a great rest of the year.

September 2008: Latin Moon in Manhattan

2008-09-01T00:00:00.005-04:00

Latino Book Club meets next on Saturday September 27th to talk about Jaime Manrique's Latin Moon in Manhattan.

Please leave your comments to get the discussion started.

Some topics:

1. Mother and son relationship

2. Homosexuality in the Latino culture

3. The craziest character

Latino Book Club met this Saturday to talk about Jaime Manrique’s Latin Moon in Manhattan. Thanks to Irene and Kathy (Humphrey) for the interesting discussion beyond the book. As for the book it was a "mixed" reaction. Kathy "hated" it, and respecting her reaction Irene and I said we enjoyed it. We all agreed that the novel does not go into depth about any issue, but simply entertains with the variety of unusual crazy characters: Simón Bolívar, Hot Sauce, Mr. O’Donnell etc.
Moving on to our future plans, I would like to welcome our newest member Mary Bulluck to our Book Club.
Some of our regular members (Olga and Lizzy) notified that Pomegranate Books had difficulty getting Jaime Manrique's book, which led us to talk about the unavailability of the books on our list in any of the Public Libraries here in Wilmington, and Kathy has suggested that we send a petition to the Libraries to acquire these books. If you are interested please let me know. We would like to get as many signatures as possible.
With the upcoming holidays in November and December, Latino Book Club will be suspended during these two months. This will give you time to catch up with the books you weren’t able to read, or liked so much that you might want to gift them to someone.
We will meet in January 2008 with Oscar Hijuelos new novel Dark Dude (suggested by Kathy).
We will meet for the last time this year next month to talk about Carla Trujillo’s What Night Brings (suggested and highly recommended by Irene).

Please send ideas for other books that we can read next year, and don’t forget to blog.

August 2008: American Chica

2008-08-01T00:30:00.004-04:00

Latino Book Club's next Coffee Hour on Saturday, August 30th at 3PM. We meet to talk about Marie Arana's memoir American Chica.

Please leave your comments, discussion topics.

Irene sends some themes:

1. Color of skin

2. Family ties

3. Identity

We had an exciting discussion arising from Marie Arana's memoir, thanks to our regulars: Olga, Irene, and Lizzy and our newest member Kathy. We all seemed to agree that Arana's writing style is very impressive. This is Olga's favorite book.
If you like Marie Arana's American Chica you can also read her first novel Cellophane, set in Amazonian Peru.
The next month's author and book is : Jaime Manrique's Latin Moon in Manhattan.
We have also chosen October's book: Carla Trujillo's What Night Brings.
Please send suggestions for our book list. Remember they just have to be US-Latino authors and writing in English.
Also, lets try and get our blog site going, especially those who can't come to our meetings, but would like to join us with their reactions. The September discussion link will be available starting September 1st.

July 2008: The Rain God

2008-07-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

Latino Book Club meets next on Saturday, July 26th at 3PM for its coffee hour and to discuss Arturo Islas' The Rain God.

Topic of discussions:

1. In comparison to Rudolfo Anaya's Bless me, Última, how do you feel about this novel?

2. Which Ángel family member is your favorite and why?

Other topics: Send them to Amrita to be posted here.

Despite the heavy rain Olga and Lizzy made it to our past coffee hour. For once we all liked Arturo Islas' THE RAIN GOD. I guess the rain was appropriate(although we did not make the connection then).
Irene was unable to come, but sent her comments. She didn't like the novel at first, but then says it grew on her.
Next month(AUGUST) we are changing the geographical origin of our author. Instead of choosing a book by a Chicano/Mexican American, Cuban American, Dominican American or Puerto Rican (the most commonly read), we are reading the Peruvian American Marie Arana's AMERICAN CHICA.

Keeping the varying motif the SEPTEMBER book is Colombian American author Jaime Manrique's LATIN MOON IN MANHATTAN. More information on this will be in our next issue of the newsletter.
DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS ON OUR BLOG.

June 2008: The Latin Deli

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Latino Book Club meets on June 28th to discuss Judith Ortiz Cofer's The Latin Deli.

Some topics:

1. What do you think of the combination of prose(fiction and non-fiction) and poetry in one book?

The Book Club met on Saturday, and I believe because of the summer many people are put of town. Olga and I, the only ones present talked about Judith Ortiz Cofer's The Latin Deli. We both seem to like the prose pieces and some of the essays were helpful to understand where the author and her writings comes from. We both had some trouble liking the poems, just a personal preference.
Do remember our Blog site.

If you are unable to come, you can always leave your comments. Everybody's insight and reaction is welcome and appreciated.
The next month's book is Arturo Islas' The Rain God.
We also picked the August book: Marie Arana, American Chica, a memoir of the Peruvian American writer.
Many of you on the list have never been to our once a month meetings. If you wish your name to be taken off the book club list, please let me know.
If any one of you need a ride, some of the regular members will be glad to bring you in to our coffee hour.

May 2008: Drown

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Latino Book Club will meet on May 31st to discuss Junot Diaz' collection of short stories, Drown.

Please post your comments!

A possible topic:

Which is your favorite story, and why?

Junot Diaz (author of Drown, our May 08 book) was on Colbert Report on June 18th, to talk about his Pultizer winning novel The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao.
Watch the video

Thank you Lizzy for staying up late, and informing us.
Enjoy!

We met today to discuss JUNOT DIAZ' DROWN. Most of us liked it. Personally it was the best I have read in our series. We also had one member with few reservations about some of the stories.
As it is the summer and if you are leaving town take the next two books with you THE LATIN DELI and July's book THE RAIN GOD.
If you are in town, please come to our next meeting, especially those who haven't been able to make it to any one our meetings.
Remember, the blog site is always there to leave your comments. You don't need any password. All you need to do is click on COMMENT and write your comment in the box that appears. Choose the NAME/URL option at the bottom of the box and leave your name.

April 2008: In Cuba I was a German Shepherd

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Latino Book Club meets on Saturday, 26th April at 3 PM to discuss Ana Menendez' In Cuba I was a German Shepherd.

Leave your comments!

Last Saturday we met to talk of Ana Menendez' In Cuba I was a German Shepherd. We all thought it was a tough read, especially with all the symbolism and the non-linear story telling style. If you didn't quite get it, you were not alone. We all agreed that nostalgia and loneliness were the dominant emotions.
If you did enjoy it, please share your comments with us.
We also enjoyed Jeremy's great music after our discussion.
Here is the next read for the month of May: Junot Diaz' Drown. We have also decided the book for June, and it is Judith Ortiz Cofer's The Latin Deli.
If you want to read a specific author or writer please send suggestions and they will be added to our box.
Happy readings and don't forget to write comments at our blog site.

March 2008: Bless me, Ultima

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The Latino Book Club meets Saturday, March 29th at 3PM.

Please leave a discussion topic and your comment to get the discussion going!

Some topics:

Nature as a character

Tony

Lunas v. Marezes

Ultima

Thank you all who came out this past Saturday to our discussion of Bless me Ultima. I am happy we all enjoyed the novel, especially New Mexico's landscape.

April's book and author: In Cuba I was a German Shepherd by Ana Menéndez.
The book is available at Pomegranate Books at a 15% discount for our Book Club members.
We have also picked the book for the month of May, it is Junot Diaz' collection of short stories titled Drown.
Please feel free to send titles to be added to our box. Please visit the Blog site and leave comments about the books you are reading.
If you any other questions, feel free to write back.

February 2008: Down These Mean Streets

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Latino Book Club meets on Saturday, February 23rd to discuss Piri Thomas' Down These Mean Streets.

Some topics of discussion:

1. Racism

2. Life in the Barrio/Spanish Harlem of New York

3. Machismo

4. Father and son relationship

5. Piri's sexual fantasy with White women

Thank you to all who came out on Saturday to our discussion of Piri Thomas’ Down These Mean Streets.

It was really interesting to hear of the west coast perspective to gangs and gang wars in comparison to Piri’s east coast experience.

Keep the discussion going. The blog site is always available to continue, and for those who could not come.

Next month, March 2008 we will be reading Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless me Ultima, and we also picked the book for April 2008, Ana Menendez’ In Cuba I was a German Shepherd. I will soon be sending out the e-newsletter for this month with information for the March book.

January 2008: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

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Book Club meets on Saturday 26th January to discuss Julia Alvarez' How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. If you cannot make it to the meeting, please feel free to write a comment for discussion. Those who can come, you are also welcome to write a comment.

Some discussion themes:

1. Your favorite García sister: Carla, Yolanda, Sandra or Sofía?

2. Your favorite episode?

3. Machismo vs. feminism

Muchas gracias to all those who made it to our first book discussion yesterday, in spite of the gloomy weather. It was a great success!
It was wonderful to hear of everyone's reactions, personal associations, and opinions about the many themes that arose from the novel.
BLOG SPOT: Some you might have received an email from Irene, in continuation of our discussion about Latino youth. (For the new members: Irene referred to an article in the Newspaper [Sunday] in the "Today" section titled " Suicide among young Latino Girls.") Please use the blog spot to continue the discussion. Simply click on the title of our discussion and leave a comment. You do NOT need any ID or password. If you couldn't make it to the book meeting, please leave your comments. We would love to hear from the rest too.
NEXT BOOK:For the next month we have chosen to read Piri Thomas’ Down These Mean Streets, and for March Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless me, Ultima. We have also decided that we will meet at the same place, Francesco’s Café at 3 every LAST SATURDAY of the month.
I will contact Kathleen (Pomegrante Books) and request her to bring in copies of Piri Thomas’ book. Once they are available I will send out an email.
E-NEWSLETTER: You will also be receiving the next e-newsletter soon. If there are any announcements regarding Latino activities in town that you would like mentioned in the e-newsletter, please forward them to me.
For any questions, please feel free to write back to me.

Welcome

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This blog is for Latino Book Club members.

Please leave a comment, if you successfully accessed this site.

Gracias,

Amrita