2015: Favorite Books & Authors

Happy 2016 everyone! I wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year.

First, a note. 2015 was a year of changes and more changes in my personal life. It was a tough year that began with the dark hole that comes from grief and ended with the light of loving acceptance. Despite all my personal struggles, it was also a productive year.  I set up a list of small personal goals to keep me looking forward, and am proud to say that by end of year they had all been achieved. It would be a lie to say that I am at 100% at this moment, but I can breath. That's a good a thing.

As always, reading was an important part of my life during 2015. I read "for pleasure" and did not review most the books read since early during the year my decision was to take it slow in order to avoid unnecessary self-imposed pressures. It worked. I can't tell you how many books I read in 2015 because I did not keep a faithful account, but it was a good year. Many of the books I read were either from my "to be read" pile, or books (series) from my wish list. So, don't be surprised that my list of 2015 favorite books is a combination of old and new. In no particular order, and not separated into categories, here is my list: (Click on title links to read reviews)*

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (Contemporary Fiction)
From my original review: This is a beautiful book for book lovers. But this is the thing, Zevin takes all of that and integrates it into a story about life itself with all the messy "disappointments and exhilarating moments that make life beautiful now and again." Highly recommended.

The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood by Richard Blanco (Creative Non-Fiction)
From my original review: From a personal perspective, I found myself relating strongly to quite a few of the circumstances Blanco portrays in this book. Looking at The Prince of Los Cocuyos from a bit of a distance, I found his storytelling to be touching, insightful, and hysterically funny at times with a bit too much emphasis placed on the nostalgia factor. The book as a whole comes across as genuine, heartfelt, and extremely intimate, depicting strengths and weaknesses in his family, himself, as well as in his community.

The Devil in America by Kai Ashante Wilson (SFF Novelette)
From my original mini: This excellent novelette is short, to the point, and packs a punch.

Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3) by Patricia Briggs (Urban Fantasy)
From my original overview: Fair Game is a well-rounded urban fantasy installment with the romance taking a step forward, as Anna takes the lead when Charles falters -- that is a lovely turn of events. And, it has a fantastic finish! Dramatic, unexpected, and just. . . yes, I loved this book.

Glitterwolf: A Letter to My 16 Year Old Self ed. Matt Cresswell (LGBT Non-Fiction)
From my original review: Ultimately, the strength of this excellent collection lies in the intimacy with which the contributing writers, as individuals, share pivotal moments while in their journey to embracing identity -- going from the uncertain questioning of the 16 year old, to the knowing, accepting, “Me.” Highly recommended.

The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold (SF)
From my original mini: I love Miles, the humor, adventurous plot, political games, and fantastic secondary characters. Everything. Overall, a fabulous creation by Bujold. A 5 star recommendation.

Texas Destiny (Book #1) by Lorraine Heath (Historical Romance)
From my original mini: This is a post American Civil war romance with a tortured hero, fantastic sexual tension and chemistry between the protagonists, and a brave, kind, admirable heroine. This is the type of western historical romance I love. A sigh-worthy read!

Dreamer's Pool & Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn & Grim #1 & #2) by Juliet Marillier (Fantasy)
From my original overview: Although I enjoyed Tower of Thorns a bit more than Dreamer's Pool due to its complex plotting and characterization, both books in this series are highly recommended.

Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy (MM Romance)
From my original mini: How do I say this? I could just say I loved, loved this book, but know more must be said. Him is fun, cute, sexy, and romantic. It is one of my favorite reads of the year.

Daydreamers: Stories by Jonathan Harper (LGBT Fiction, Single Author Collection)
Jonathan Harper's writing skills deserve a 5 star rating in his debut short story collection Daydreamers: Stories. This is a gritty compilation of short stories with no easy resolutions (or no resolutions at all) for young men, troubled daydreamers, who for the most part come from a middle class background. Read it, yearn, search for inspiration, and dream with his characters.

From the Ashes & Bloodlines (Boystown 6 & 7) by Marshall Thornton (LGBT, Gay Mystery)
I put off reading From the Ashes. The beginning is grim after the events that occurred in Murder Book (Book #5), but as I have come to expect from Mr. Thornton, this is another excellent addition to the Boystown series. The slow development of Nick's "rebirth" was perfection, as were the mystery and contributions by secondary characters. A 5 star read. In Bloodlines the tone is lighter. Nick is moving on and has found peace. Yet, the specter that was AIDS in the 1980's still haunts the reader. The two mysteries are interesting and involved, however, for me, the interpersonal relationships make this book a winner. Actually, Thornton's Boystown series is an all-around winner and a must read!

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Fantasy)
A dark fairytale, an excellent fairytale, a fantastic standalone fantasy novel. Uprooted by Naomi Novik took me by surprise. This December read is definitely a favorite. It contains much of what I love in a fantasy: marvelous world-building, strong female characters, romance, strong and distinguishable magical elements, loyal, memorable friendships, action, danger, a great ending, and hmm… a different sort of dragon. Don't miss it!

Ru by Kim Thúy (Literary Fiction)
Accessible literary fiction that reads like a memoir. Written in short, connected chapters that move backwards and forward in time. The beauty of language and its fluidity are key to this story about a Vietnamese immigrant recalling her childhood journey from Vietnam to Quebec, Canada, and going on to relate life as an adult. This novel won the Canadian 2010 Governor General's Literary Award and, in my opinion, deservedly so.

Only Enchanting (The Survivors' Club #4) by Mary Balogh (Historical Romance)
I read this book during my summer vacation and loved Balogh's subtle characterization of Agnes, the heroine in this romance. She is not exciting, beautiful, or outstanding in any way. She's an almost spinster who has never been in love. Yet, I found the subtle, quiet relationship that builds between the almost nondescript Agnes and the beautiful but troubled Flavian to be quite romantic and believable. I still remember letting out a quiet sigh at the end of this book.

The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne (Historical Romance)
Ah well. . . this historical romance has its troubles, but in 2015, it was one of the most enjoyable reads in this category. First, the protagonists meet when they are children, developing a strong bond and falling in love. Second, the male character is not from the aristocracy (isn't that refreshing?), and is a seriously scarred, angst-ridden hero. The female protagonist is loyal, loving, and strong minded. Win-win. And, Byrne's bedroom scenes, as well as the sexual tension, sizzle. I did not review this book in my blog, but I still recommended it to friends!

Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata (Japanese Literary Fiction)
This is a passionate story. Yet, it is written in a deceivingly delicate, simple style. Kawabata uses imagery throughout this story; a kerchief with a thousand crane motif held by a young woman, the precious objects utilized during a tea ceremony, rainstorms, an ugly birthmark marring a breast. The story takes on a complex flavor as objects and events become a suggestion, an insinuation, symbols for life and death, for eroticism, passion, for shame and / or resentment, for corruption and / or purity. A magnificent read.

*Note: Due to a partial hiatus in 2015, not all titles on my list were reviewed. I have added quick impressions of those books in this post. Additionally, most of the books reviewed were not graded. However, the above mentioned titles received either 5 stars (Grade A) or 4.5 stars (A-) at Goodreads.

---------------------

2016 is a new year, and I am ready to resume blogging at a regular pace. I have already accepted a few ARCs for the months of March and April from selected publishers.

A special thanks to all my blogger friends (you know who you are), who consistently and without missing a beat supported and checked on me during 2015! I swear, at least one of you is psychic. . .

Short Stories: M.R. Carey, John Chu, Justin Torres

I read countless short stories yearly but I rarely feature them on their own. Today I'm highlighting three single shorts that are not only excellent reads, but also free downloads. Check it out.

"Melanie was new herself, once, but that's hard to remember because it was a long time ago. It was before there were any words; there were just things without names, and things without names don't stay in your mind. They fall out, and then they're gone.

Now she's ten years old, and she has skin like a princess in a fairy tale; skin as white as snow. So she knows that when she grows up she'll be beautiful, with princes falling over themselves to climb her tower and rescue her.

Assuming, of course, that she has a tower."

I read the extended free preview of "The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey" (9 chapters!), and it turned out to be an absolutely fabulous speculative fiction read! I'm not saying much more about the story at this point because I believe it should be approached from a fresh perspective, but know this: if you give this book a try the main narrator and central character, a ten-year old whose name is Melanie, will snare you into reading the whole thing.

I am salivating to continue reading but have to wait until the whole novel releases on June 10th! I have high expectations for the rest of the book. As a teaser this preview is the perfect hook, but it also works really well as a short story. It gets an A- from me ONLY because I know there's more to come. Highly recommended.

In the near future water falls from the sky whenever someone lies (either a mist or a torrential flood depending on the intensity of the lie). This makes life difficult for Matt as he maneuvers the marriage question with his lover and how best to "come out" to his traditional Chinese parents.

I strongly recommend John Chu's The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere, a short piece nominated this year for a Hugo Award. I think what needs to be said about this piece has already been said. But personally what I like most about the story is how effectively, albeit sparingly, Chu uses the falling water. I like how this device affects the characters and plot which main focus is on family, love, and relationships. The writing style is both beautiful and concise, making this SF short story a personal favorite.

This story is also included in Some of the Best From Tor.com, 2013 Edition: A Tor.Com Original. Also available as a free download.

Reverting to the Wild State by Justin Torres was published in The New Yorker Magazine, August 1, 2011, but I just read it this past week.

Justin Torres is a fabulous writer whose 2011 novel We the Animals was acknowledged widely and garnered positive attention and reviews. This short piece gives the reader a taste of his writing style and a different sort of story.

Reverting to the Wild State is not much more than a broad sketch of a relationship that is related in reverse by the author. That first step as the story goes back in time is confusing but quickly becomes clear. This piece is unique, sad, and rather haunting, and leaves the reader wanting more. Free online read

Hilcia's Weekly Reads & Updates

Hello everyone! I hope those living in the U.S. will have a fantastic Thanksgiving! And wish you all a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends. I've been missing in action again and won't go into a long story, but I've been reading. These are the books I've read within the past week or so:



The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (Reread)

Reread an American Classic, The Sound and The Fury for a discussion with my brothers. I'd forgotten about how fabulous and incredibly confusing that first section narrated by Bengy can be… the "stream of consciousness" or loose association style of writing is just fantastic in this novel. It still amazes me how Faulkner manages to change narrative (writing) styles throughout all four different sections in this book to such great effect. And, of course, the negative, almost nihilistic, views of modern man and society are overwhelming. Thank goodness for Dilsey!

I will be hitting more Faulkner in the near future. ;P

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This contemporary fiction/romance has received some attention. I enjoyed that Simsion uses the first person point of view from the male's perspective in this romance. It makes for a great change and it's kind of refreshing. And the fact that Don's point of view is skewed because he suffers from Asperger's Syndrome makes this novel an even more interesting read. Simsion uses humor, tenderness, warmth, and the main character's personal frustration to develop the romance. The reader sees Rosie from Don's perspective and, in my opinion, this distances her from the reader to a certain degree. However, Simsion does a fairly good job of letting the reader "see" Rosie. I understood Rosie's need and insecurities, but frankly when it came to Rosie falling in love with our man I found there to be a disconnect... and hmm... maybe that was on purpose. I mean, if Don could not figure out what being in love felt like, how could he recognize it in her? Is an adult with Asperger's stereotyped in this romance? I wouldn't know, but, I do know that Simsion's novel is an enjoyable read all the way from beginning to end. Don, if not necessarily Rosie, makes it so.

What the Bride Didn't Know by Kelly Hunter

This category romance was enjoyable in the middle of all my other reads -- pure contemporary romance. It has a friends to lovers theme, which I love (and enjoyed), likable characters, and Kelly Hunter's way of rolling out a story. I was happy when Trig and Lena got their happy ever after, they loved each other openly but never told each other that they were "in love," and that was beautiful. I also loved Istanbul as the backdrop to the romance. I was not happy with the amnesia situation, the obsolete, action-less spy situation, or the fact that after a while I began to get that "kitchen sink" feeling when it came to devices thrown in for good measure. So this is a book that began with promise and a great premise, but along the way more or less became an average read.

The Birthday of the World by Ursula K. Le Guin

I haven't finished this collection of short stories by Le Guin yet, but the two stories I read, "Coming of Age in Karhide" and "Paradise Lost" were so good that I stopped reading the collection and went on to read my first complete novel by this author. Le Guin is one of those authors whose science fiction works I've been eyeing forever, but I never got around to reading. I'll be writing a post on her work so I won't go into detail now, but these two short stories are distinctly different. In "Coming of Age in Karhide," Le Guin returns to the Gethenian world-building she established in The Left Hand of Darkness and focuses on one particular aspect of what makes these people unique, "Paradise Lost," on the other hand, is a space voyage that takes place in a generational ship. Neither turned out to be what I expected, but were much more. I am definitely going to finish this collection and will write about it.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

This book? Well... this book is fantastic! I will definitely write a review for it, but basically it is about a man who is sent as the Envoy or first alien to contact the Gethenian planet to convince them, not only that there are other humans in space, but also to join their union of traders. Now, if you haven't read this book yet and think this is your run of the mill "first contact" book, then you'd be wrong. It's a magnificent study of humans as a whole. I relished reading this book slowly, and Le Guin's prose made every second worth the read.

I am a fan, and already have The Dispossessed in my Kindle. I can't wait to read it!


Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

This non-fictional collection of accounts about princesses behaving "badly" throughout history is an ARC I received from Quirk Books. The summary really caught my attention with mention of pirate and warrior princesses from different historical periods and parts of the globe. It turns out that the sections about these princesses are rather short and written in a chatty, very mod style which of course would not take away from the content if the accounts had in fact some meat on the bones, or the author's attempts to make this a feminist piece had been truly successful. I think that perhaps for readers who are not quite interested in history but want to read a book with facts and  "girl-power" flavor, this book might be fun with its light tone. Unfortunately, this collection did not hit the spot for me.

WHAT AM I READING?

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This is a 1992 release by Tartt. I've never read a book by her, but my brother A. just read it and recommended it to me, so I picked it up. Anyway, I'm about 60% through it and I'm find it an interesting read. It's set in a Vermont university with six young students of ancient Greek as the main characters. They are a snobbish and self-contained group with a snobbish professor who inspires them to go far beyond their explorations of the language and culture. The result of these explorations lead the young group to commit murder, and the story is the progression of how it all evolves as well as revelations of what truly lies beneath the surface of each character and relationship. I will come back with more about this book because I haven't reached the meaty section yet. The story is quite arresting.


I'm hoping to read some uplifting holiday books this weekend -- romance! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm in the mood for them. :)

Reading Habits: Moments, Blood & Guts, Cowboys & PI's

I had this post almost ready before the dreaded flu hit me over a week ago now, but it still holds since I've read very little since then. It's a little update on my reading habits, books I'm reading, and books read.
----------
Reading Habits:
Sometimes my reading habits get the best of me and other times they work like clockwork. I read different books at different times during the day. I use my Kindle and iPhone during my commutes to and from work and at lunch time, and read print books at home during the evening and weekends. That means that I'm usually reading multiple books at the same time. It gets crazy sometimes! For example, at the same time I went nuts reading gay cowboy romances and an entire mystery series, in print and in my Kindle I was reading contemporary fiction, literary fiction and other books that I don't often review here.

Moments:
In a previous post, I mentioned that I am reading Dear Life, the last collection of short stories by Alice Munro. In this book, Munro captures what seem like ordinary moments that change people's (mostly women's) lives. Sometimes the decisions that lead to those changes seem... mundane, but turn out to be life altering. Not all the stories are working for me on the same level, but one thing I can say about Munro, with few words she can pack a lifetime of information in a short story.

Blood & Guts:
I am also in the process of reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, one of the most gruesomely violent books I've ever read. The writing is fantastic -- sparse, tight, yet so freaking descriptive. It's like he punches you with words one minute and just lulls you with beauty the next. The worse part of it, and the most effective, is when the beauty of his words calmly and nonchalantly describe the horror and violence that humans achieve without even trying. Mr. McCarthy's perspective of the human condition and the lack of humanity in his portrayal of the historical American West is turning out to be rather daunting.

Blood & Guts - A Legal Battle: 
I also just began reading Gilbert King's Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner for general nonfiction. I am not too far into this book yet, but I can relate a little bit of information on it. So far I'm struck by Gilbert King's excellent creative nonfiction style of writing -- this book reads more like a novel, and it is not a dry accounting of events. The book begins with a brief accounting of landmark cases that Thurgood Marshall argued in Southern Courts and before the U.S. Supreme Court beginning and after the mid-1940's when he served as counsel for the NAACP during the Jim Crow South era. He is best known for his 1951 win Brown v. Board of Education, which brought about the desegregation of public schools, and for serving as Justice of the Supreme Court, the first black man to do so. However, this book specifically focuses on one of Marshall's less known cases, the 1949 Florida case known as the Groveland Boys.
-----------
Cowboys:
Anyway, before the flu got me, I was reading like a machine. For example, this month I finished a crazy reading spree of contemporary western M/M romances. Don't ask me why, except that I love westerns and while reading one book something began to bug me, so I decided to do some comparison reading and went on an unexpected marathon.

As I moved along from one book to another, I realized that what was bugging me was that the core of these westerns all seem to have "required" points. There is the closeted cowboy or rancher who struggles to make the tough decision to come out of the closet when that one man shows up in their lives, the requisite homophobes, and the other closeted gay cowboys who pop out of the woodwork and are always lying in wait to give support and advice when needed. This sounds cynical, I know, but as a reader, this trend just hit me as a "truly tired" plot device. I read five books in a row and all hit the above mentioned points, as have many other contemporary western M/M romances I've read before. After a while I stopped making notes and just wrote a few lines about what was different. There is always the matter of different writing styles, and a different angle thrown here and there.

In Heart of a Cowboy by Z.A. Maxfield, I enjoyed the writing and the fact that the main character is honest with himself, his lover, and those around him. In Long Tall Drink by L.C. Chase, story trumps sex and both main characters are given backgrounds that are explored and used to develop the overall story and romantic conflict. In Pickup Men by L.C. Chase, a frustrating read, the fact that the story begins with the couple breaking up is rather unique. But the most interesting aspect of this piece is that Chase incorporates two different perspectives dealing with the consequences that arise from sending young gay men to "rehabilitation camps." And, in No Going Home and Duncan's World, T.A. Chase focuses his novels on fathers who physically abuse their sons, and psychologically lost young men who need and look for "daddies" in their lovers and require their support in order to come out of the closet.

A PI:

On my iPhone, I read the first book of Marshall Thornton's Nick Nowack Mystery series, Boystown: Three Nick Nowack Mysteries. This is a series that my friend Indigene highly recommended to me because she knows how much I love good LGBT mysteries. I fell in love with the gritty central character Nick, the 1980's Chicago setting, Mr. Thornton's pared down writing, and the book format. The book is separated into three sections with titles (novellas), each with a mystery solved by Nick, but the overall storyarc focuses on Nick's personal life and the recurring characters give the book (and overall series) continuity.

This is a great first book with wonderful mysteries that hooked me and a fantastic, rather captivating, ex-cop turned PI whose prolific sexual escapades mask the heartbreak of losing the ex-lover who shoved him out of the closet resulting in the loss of both his family and job with the Chicago PD. I liked the first book so much that I ended up reading the entire Nick Nowack Mystery series up to the latest release, including Little Boy Dead: A Boystown Prequel, Boystown 2: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries, Boystown 3: Two Nick Nowak Mysteries, Boystown 4: Time for Secrets, and Boystown 5: Murder Book. I became so invested in Nick that frankly, I can't wait to find out where Thornton takes this character as well as some secondary characters I've become attached to -- particularly since we know some of what is coming and after the heartbreaking events in Murder Book.
-----------
What Else?:
I've finished a few books since I began writing this post, The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, a historical fiction/romance book set in 1927 during the Mississippi Flood (Kindle ed.), The Padișah's Son and the Fox by Alex Jeffers, a Turkish erotic fairy tale (Print ed.), and 'Nathan Burgoine's debut full-length novel Light, a combination superhero action/adventure romance, with strong spec-fic elements (Kindle ed.).

Guest Author Tim Z. Hernandez: "I Remain as Ever, Bea"

Today, I would like to extend a big welcome to Tim Z. Hernandez, author of Mañana Means Heaven, the story of Bea Franco who for years was only known as Terry, the "Mexican girl" from Jack Karouac's On the Road.

Mañana Means Heaven deftly combines fact and fiction to pull back the veil on one of literature’s most mysterious and evocative characters. Inspired by Franco’s love letters to Kerouac and Hernandez’s interviews with Franco, now in her nineties and living in relative obscurity, the novel brings this lost gem of a story out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

Franco was sought out by dozens of Kerouac and Beat scholars, but none could find her. According to one, “finding Bea Franco is like trying to find the ghost of a needle in haystack.”

Well, Tim Z. Hernandez found the "needle in the haystack" and wrote a book that has received high praise from The Associated Press, Booklist and others, and that I am sure will continue to do so.

On a personal note, when The University of Arizona Press contacted me about the upcoming release of Mañana Means Heaven I was immediately taken in by the synopsis. It just captures the imagination. Later, as I was in the middle of reading Bea Franco's journey through life, I was quite shocked and saddened to learn that she had passed away.

Today is the last day in a week-long blog tour. By following the tour, you will find real insight into Tim's research by listening to interviews, reading notes from his journal, excellent question and answer sessions, or if you prefer, there are also book excerpts available.

For his last stop today, however, Hernandez chose to write a very personal post about Bea.

Blog Tour:

Monday, September 16 | Stephanie Nikolopoulos blog 

Tuesday, September 17 | The Daily Beat 

Wednesday, September 18 | La Bloga 

Thursday, September 19 | The Big Idea 

Friday, September 20 | The Dan O’Brien Project 

Welcome Tim!
______________________

I Remain as Ever, Bea

On the morning of August 15, 2013 I received a text from Albert Franco, Bea's son, telling me in only a few abbreviated words that his mother had passed away. This news took the breath out of me. It was unexpected, to say the least. I had just recently spoken with Patricia, Bea's daughter, who Bea had been staying with in Long Beach. My family and I were making plans to see her while we were going to be in California. At the time, Patricia said something to the effect of, "My mother's been doing much better lately and I'm sure she'd like to see you." So my wife and I began planning. Just a few days earlier, on August 3, after receiving copies of my book in the mail from my publisher, I hurried to the post office and sent Bea a package, which included a signed copy of the book, her book, along with a bound photo album I had made her, compiled with all the photos and documents her family had loaned me during the writing of her book. Days later Patricia called to tell me the package had arrived and how excited they all were. I asked if she wouldn' t mind taking a few pictures of Bea holding her book, and she agreed. On August 7, I received several text messages from Patricia's daughter Dina, images of Bea smiling with her copy of Mañana Means Heaven in her hands. She had that same curious glint in her eye that I had come to know, as if to say, it's about time! Of course, in that moment we had no idea that these photographs would become the only evidence that Bea did in fact live to see her life story told in the pages of a book. No longer merely the fictional "Mexican girl" of Kerouac's imagination, or the quiet and unassuming campesina that appeared for all of two minutes in Walter Salles' movie, On the Road, but Beatrice Renteria Franco, now Bea Kozera, the real woman, the real deal.


On the very day Mañana Means Heaven was to land on the shelves of bookstores across the nation, Thursday August 29, a handful of friends and family gathered at the idyllic Belmont Memorial Park in Fresno, California to pay their last respects to this "petite woman with fire in her heart," as one of Bea's relatives remarked. For the better part of three years, it seemed every member of my family was also invested in Bea's story. (It was my mother who actually located her whereabouts back in 2010. After telling her I was about to give up my search for Bea and just get on with the book, she replied, "Give me your files and notes, I'll find her!" 24 hours later, she handed me two possible leads.) Even my cousin Art, when I went to visit him in the pen the first thing out of his mouth was, "Have you finished your book about the Mexican girl?" And of course, so many times my wife Dayanna had watched me return from my interviews with Bea beaming with excitement. Like this, my family, even our children, became familiar with Bea; through our visits with her, through the myriad photos which hung on the wall above my desk as I wrote the book, through the sound of Bea's own tender voice played back on my video camera, for three solid years we lived with her presence. Needless to say, at her services, we were all there together. I was asked by her son Albert to share a few words, and so I spoke briefly about what Bea had taught me, and about what we might all learn from her story. That each of us, regardless of how seemingly insignificant or boring or obscure our lives may be, are made up of valuable epic stories that deserve their day in the light. Standing at the podium, I concluded my thoughts by sharing one small but very cool detail about Bea. Over the years she had enjoyed writing letters and postcards to people, and she had a distinct way of signing off. I could clearly see that curious glint in her eye shine, each time she assured her reader, "I Remain as Ever, Bea."


Tim Z. Hernandez, copyright 2013
______________________


Mañana Means Heaven by Tim Z. Hernandez
Released: August 29, 2013
The University of Arizona Press

In this love story of impossible odds, award-winning writer Tim Z. Hernandez weaves a rich and visionary portrait of Bea Franco, the real woman behind famed American author Jack Kerouac’s “The Mexican Girl.” Set against an ominous backdrop of California in the 1940s, deep in the agricultural heartland of the Great Central Valley, Mañana Means Heaven reveals the desperate circumstances that lead a married woman to an illicit affair with an aspiring young writer traveling across the United States.

When they meet, Franco is a migrant farmworker with two children and a failing marriage, living with poverty, violence, and the looming threat of deportation, while the “college boy” yearns to one day make a name for himself in the writing world. The significance of their romance poses vastly different possibilities and consequences.

Mañana Means Heaven deftly combines fact and fiction to pull back the veil on one of literature’s most mysterious and evocative characters. Inspired by Franco’s love letters to Kerouac and Hernandez’s interviews with Franco, now in her nineties and living in relative obscurity, the novel brings this lost gem of a story out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

About the Author: Tim Z. Hernandez is a poet, novelist, and performance artist whose awards include the 2006 American Book Award, the 2010 Premio Aztlan Prize in Fiction, and the James Duval Phelan Award from the San Francisco Foundation. He is the author of two books of poetry, Natural Takeover of Small Things (2013) and Skin Tax, and the novels Mañana Means Heaven (2013) and Breathing in Dust. In 2011 the Poetry Society of America named him one of sixteen New American Poets. He holds a BA from Naropa University and an MFA from Bennington College.

Visit Tim Z. Hernandez here.
Buy the book here.

Review: The Favor by Megan Hart

Janelle Decker has happy childhood memories of her grandma's house, and even lived there through high school. Now she's back with her twelve-year-old son to look after her ailing Nan, and hardly anything seems to have changed, not even the Tierney boys next door. Gabriel Tierney, local bad-boy. The twins, Michael and Andrew.

After everything that happened between the four of them, Janelle is shocked that Gabe still lives in St. Mary's. And he isn't trying very hard to convince Janelle he's changed from the moody teenage boy she once knew. If anything, he seems bent on making sure she has no intentions of rekindling their past.

To this day, though there might've been a lot of speculation about her relationship with Gabe, nobody else knows she was there in the woods that day...the day a devastating accident tore the Tierney brothers apart and drove Janelle away. But there are things that even Janelle doesn't know, and as she and Gabe revisit their interrupted romance, she begins to uncover the truth denied to her when she ran away all those years ago.

Megan Hart is well known for her excellent writing and successful combination of edgy erotic romances and contemporary fiction. Hart’s excellent writing style is definitely present in this novel, however, do not expect to find an erotic romance or romance as the main focus. In The Favor, this multi talented writer dives straight into adult contemporary fiction and adds a touch of an unconventional romantic relationship.

Two wild teenagers with secrets that would shape the rest of their lives, secretly reach for each other as a saving grace until one betrays the other's trust by asking a favor that ends up hurting everyone involved. Twenty years later, long after a tragedy visited the Tierney boys, Janelle returns to St. Mary's to care for her dying Nan and finds that Gabe still lives next door, now acting as a sort of care taker to his sick father and brother Andy. Moody Gabe. Unreachable Gabe. A sexy Gabe who does not want to give Janelle the time of day or even a chance to talk about the present, never mind act on the mutual attraction that still exists between them or discuss their shared, troubled past.

Hart utilizes the narrators, Janelle and Gabe, to deeply explore their characters by exposing personal flaws, intimate vulnerabilities, and raw pain. Through them, the reader also learns what drives key secondary characters. Chapters shift between the present and past, the present narrated by Janelle and the past by Gabe, as Hart keeps the reader intrigued by strongly weaving past and present events until all is revealed.

As in most good literary fiction, however, motivations behind actions by certain characters remain obscure, and it is left up to the reader to dig and/or interpret what lies behind those actions. For example, Gabe's brother Andy is key to the unfolding story, as is Andy's twin brother Michael. Yet, the real motive behind Michael's reactions is not revealed in detail to the reader, particularly when compared to Andy. Motives behind the relationship that took place between Gabe's parents are also implied but not specified.

Overall, the characterization is excellent. Janelle, Gabe, Andy and Nan all possess strength of character, which contrast sharply with flaws, fears, weaknesses and the dreadful situations they encounter. That contrast imbues these characters with a human touch that emotionally connects them with the reader. They lingered with me; Gabe and Janelle, Andy and Janelle's son Bennett, Nan . . . and yes, Mr. Tierney.

There are very few slow moments to be found, they are in a few sections where Janelle cares for Nan, otherwise the story flows at a steady pace. Plot-wise, I love how Hart conveys the dreadful situation taking place in Gabe's home by setting up a tense atmosphere through Gabe's present tense, first point of view narrative. There are dark spaces, moments, and although the darkest of the dark are not graphically described, they are there, strongly implied. This method of imparting information is so effective that I reread some sections to make sure that imagined details were not there! She uses this same method when Gabe narrates his secret, emotionally and sexually charged, encounters with Janelle.

In this novel, Hart explores selfishness and selflessness, parental abuse and neglect, guilt, regret, and love. Her characters survive dysfunctional familial relationships, wrestle with duty vs. love, and trauma vs. survival. In the end, is forgiveness always necessary or possible? When is it necessary? When is it possible?

When I search for contemporary fiction, I hunt for, and hope to find, novels like The Favor. Stories that keep me intrigued with substance, and emotionally invested in the characters. I read, have read, quite a few contemporary fiction books lately, and it is not easy to find the ones that deliver on the premise or do not overreach. With The Favor, Hart strikes that fine balance by delivering on the initial premise with both substance and fine writing, and not overreaching by maintaining a tight focus. Highly recommended.

Category: Literary/Contemporary Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: MIRA/June 25, 2013
Source: eARC via Netgalley
Grade: A-

Review: This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz

This Is How You Lose Her
by Junot Díaz

Junot Díaz's third book, This Is How You Lose Her, follows his 2008 Pulitzer winning novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Yet, with this third book, he returns to a familiar format, world and characters his readers first encountered in his first collection of short stories, Drown.

This time, although again the Dominican immigrant's experience is very much an intrinsic part of his stories, the main theme is infidelity. Using a distinctly male point of view, language that is prosaic and, at times, beautiful, with these nine stories Díaz depicts a critical and distinctly honest portrait of Dominican males and a Latino machista culture bred on infidelity, as per his observations.

Díaz's now familiar character Yunior, brother Rafa, his boys and their women serve as his instruments. The stories, with narrative and dialog from the males' perspectives, are raw in content, and the language is so realistic that oftentimes they leave the reader with a feeling of discomfort. 

Frankly most women in these short stories, even the ones who are supposedly loved, are described in sexual terms or as sexual objects. However when placed into perspective, I believe that Mr. Díaz has written a disturbingly honest account of men with a learned sense of entitlement that leads to cheating on partners in a machista Latino culture where manliness in proven through sexual exploits. (Personally, I've always thought of this phenomenon as male insecurity and have argued this point countless times) Díaz shows how boys learn, by example and encouragement, to become the same type of men who cheated on their mothers, aunts and sisters by emulating their fathers, brothers, and friends, even as they initially reject and hate those same men for their actions.

Women are not necessarily spared. Yes, there are the women who are being cheated on. Most of the stories are named after them: Nilda, Alma, Flaca, The Pura Principle, Miss Lora, -- but there are also those women who knowingly become part of the infidelity cycle -- the sucias, as Yunior calls them. Actions in this collection have consequences as is evident by the title. And then there's one of my favorite stories of the collection, the only one written from a female's perspective: Otravida, Otravez.

In Otravida, Otravez an immigrant woman working as a laundress for a hospital has been conducting a long-term affair with a married man whose wife lives in the Dominican Republic. Díaz captures the hardworking woman's tough life, but also her lack of expectations when it comes to this long-term relationship. There's also a sense of displacement and "not belonging" about this woman, both in terms of the relationship and place (as the immigrant). A need to feel settled and safe and the inability to find that safety, as well as the expectation of being abandoned, let down, and ultimately unfulfilled. This restlessness, the lack of expectations, and the sense of displacement are all found throughout the stories. The book ends with a bang with what I consider the strongest piece of the collection, The Cheater's Guide to Love an honest, fascinating, and intimate look into a man's life after he loses the love of his life. There's almost a sense of the autobiographical that makes this particular story even more intriguing.

Mr. Díaz's grasp of multiple settings -- New Jersey, the Dominican Republic, Boston -- and Dominican/Latino culture is impressive in its authenticity, the details more than show that he has personal knowledge of both. It is important to note that I specify Dominican/Latino culture in this case, as there are some aspects of these stories that particularly apply to the Dominican culture. However this behavior and/or way of thinking should, if not in general terms at least partly, be applied to males in the Latino machista culture as a whole.

I am a bit conflicted about This Is How You Lose Her, but that is only because Mr. Díaz returns to Yunior and the Drown setting. I was hoping for radically different content from him in this new book. However, and here's where my conflict comes in, the theme is fresh, pertinent and controversial even if the format, characters, and setting are familiar. The problem is that because of the familiarity and/or similarities, This Is How You Lose Her invites comparison to Drown, and as a collection in my opinion Drown is a tighter, better flowing short story collection.

Having said that, Díaz's writing style is consistently powerful with a rhythm and vibrancy that keep the reader engaged, although frankly in this collection there are some stories that stand out more than others. He continues to pepper his works with Spanish, slang, and brutally raw street language combined with a beautiful turn of phrase that define him. The subject matters addressed in his books continue to challenge readers' comfort zones -- a fact evident in This Is How You Lose Her.

On a personal note, some of these stories have previously been published in The New Yorker and some might have read them before, however, as a collection with a theme, this is a book that I've already recommended to family and friends, both males and females. We've already begun discussing and debating its content from all points of view. Whether you love them or hate them, the very nature and frankness of Junot Díaz's short stories lend themselves to vigorous and passionate discussion, and to me that's always a sign of a book worth reading.

Category: Literary Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Riverhead/September 11, 2012 - Kindle Ed.
Grade: B

Other works reviewed:
Drown

Review: We the Animals by Justin Torres

We wanted more. We knocked the butt ends of our forks against the table, tapped our spoons against our empty bowls; we were hungry. We wanted more volume, more riots. We turned up the knob on the TV until our ears ached with the shouts of angry men. We wanted more music on the radio; we wanted beats; we wanted rock. We wanted muscles on our skinny arms. We had bird bones, hollow and light, and we wanted more density, more weight. We were six snatching hands, six stomping feet; we were brothers, boys, three little kings locked in a feud for more. "We Wanted More"

With his short, 128 page debut coming-of-age novel We the Animals, Justin Torres packs a powerful punch.  This is one of those little books that I had in my queue of electronics books to read last year, and didn't get to until December. Once finished, I was sorry I didn't get to it earlier.

Where do I begin? Do I summarize the story first? No. I'll begin by giving you my impressions of the book itself. There's such velocity and power in the narration that it's tough to put this short book down for even one minute. The characters in this story are so rich and vibrant that they jump off the pages and the reader can't help but want to go on to know how the story ends. Torres' sparse writing style, like negative space in a painting used to emphasize shade and color, is highly effective, as what is not said is just as powerful as what is written.

The story is about three little boys, three brothers who are basically raising themselves as their mother works the evening shift and sleeps during the day, while their Paps is in and out of their lives. Their father is Puerto Rican and their mother is white, and the relationship between these parents is volatile, unstable, sometimes loving, confusing and ultimately traumatizing. Their parents are originally from Brooklyn but they live in upstate New York where families like theirs are not the norm.

"This is your heritage," he said, as if from this dance we could know about his own childhood, about the flavor and grit of tenement buildings in Spanish Harlem, and project in Red Hook, and dance halls, and city parks, and about his own Paps, how he beat him, how he taught him to dance, as if we could hear Spanish in his movements, as if Puerto Rico was a man in a bathrobe, grabbing another beer from the fridge and raising it to drink, his head back, still dancing, still stepping and snapping perfectly in time. "Heritage"

The brothers grow up almost as a unit, with wants and needs that they scrimp and scrape to find on their own. There's a self-absorbing love within the family unit that keeps them in a fierce sort of protective vacuum for years. They grow up learning how to avoid their parents' battles, their father's belt, how to tiptoe while their mother sleeps during the day, making up their own games and getting into mischief as a unit. Torres effectively conveys joy, as well as the dysfunction in the boys' lives through their games, whether they are flying trash kites, smashing tomatoes or pretending to be "the magic of God."

As the story quickly moves along and the brothers grow in the midst of a chaotic household, physically and psychologically abused by self-absorbed parents, they begin to see beneath the surface of the fights and into the real dysfunction that permeates their family. The brothers' relationship begins to splinter ["When we were brothers..."], and although the two older brothers remain close, our young narrator feels more and more like an outsider, separate, alienated. As the story races to its climactic ending to uncover the reasons behind the boy's alienation, the story gains speed and by its conclusion the reader is left breathless and more than a little heartbroken.

The story is sectioned off into vignettes or short stories narrated in the first person point of view by the youngest brother. The narration is powerful, the sections are short and to the point with a sparse prose that makes We the Animals a quick, if powerful read. Is the book perfect? Of course not. There is a section at the end of the book where the point of view shifts to the third person, distancing the reader from the most poignant and heartbreaking moment in the story. Whether the author's purpose was to place that distance there or not, the abrupt change in perspective broke the spell I was under and interrupted the immediacy and urgency of that first point of view perspective that is so effectively used up to that particular point.

We the Animals by Justin Torres is a unique coming-of-age story that will leave you breathless with its content and speed. This is a heartbreakingly memorable story and one I highly recommend.

Category: Literary Fiction/LGBT
Publisher/Released: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/August 30, 2011 - Kindle Ed.
Grade: B+

Visit Justin Torres here.

Review: The Book of Want by Daniel A. Olivas

When Moses descended Mount Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments, he never could have foreseen how one family in Los Angeles in the early twenty-first century would struggle to live by them

Conchita, a voluptuous, headstrong single woman of a certain age, sees nothing wrong with enjoying the company of handsome—and usually much younger—men . . . that is, until she encounters a widower with unusual gifts and begins to think about what she really wants out of life.

Julieta, Conchita's younger sister, walks a more traditional path, but she and her husband each harbor secrets that could change their marriage and their lives forever. Their twin sons, both in college, struggle to find fulfillment. Mateo refuses to let anyone stand in the way of his happiness, while Rolando grapples with his sexuality and the family's expectations. And from time to time, Belén, the family's late matriarch, pays a visit to advise, scold, or cajole her hapless descendants.

Ahh... The Book of Want! This is Daniel A. Olivas' first and I believe a wonderful debut novel. Using both social and magical realism, Mr. Olivas relates the story of a Mexican-American family covering three generations.

Olivas sets the story in Los Angeles with some of the back story taking place in Mexico. The novel begins with a prologue set in Mexico where he introduces Belén the matriarch of the family and her young daughter Conchita, the rest is divided into ten related, self-contained chapters, and ends with an epilogue.

The story focuses on two sisters, Conchita and Julieta. Conchita is a sixty-two year old woman, great looking and single. She loves being single, adores younger men and has had plenty of them in her life without a care for what anyone thinks of her. Although lately Conchita's age has become a problem:

"But now, when it came to her dating life, with each passing year, men's interest in Conchita has dwindled. Though still possessing a voluptuous figure, creamy-brown skin, and large, inviting eyes, few men under the age of fifty even acknowledged her presence. And Conchita had no desire for men her own age because they looked ready for the trash heap. It was galling. If she were a famous male actor, she could have her pick of younger partners!"

Slowly, however, Conchita's interest for her widower neighbor Mr. Rojo helps her reassess her life. Mr. Rojo certainly holds her attention with his mysterious ways and eventually shows Conchita that the seemingly impossible can happen. One of the most amusing chapters in the book, "How to Date a Flying Mexican," is related from Conchita's perspective -- hilarious and so well done!

Julieta is the traditional sister. She has been married to Manuel for years and together they have college-aged twins Rolando and Mateo. In this family everyone has secrets! Manuel's suspicious activities and big secret could end the marriage, and Julieta is keeping a secret of her own. Rolando in the meantime struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality, just as self-centered Mateo who thinks he can have everything he wants learns a few lessons. This family is firmly rooted in the present with daily, contemporary issues and struggles that are surprisingly well addressed in this short, ambitious book.

But hey, I don't want to leave out Belén. Belén is Conchita and Julieta's mother and has been dead for a while, but remember this is magical realism we're talking about so that's of no consequence here. She visits her descendants to advice and harass them about their decisions and eventually Olivas takes us back to Mexico for her story, providing the readers with this family's background. Interestingly enough, although Belen's story is fascinating and she's an integral part of the generational and cultural family tapestry created by Olivas, I found that going back in time after relating the first five chapters in the present interrupted the story's flow.

It's also interesting that although I love the story as a whole, I still think of the different chapters singularly. Chapter 10, Want: A Symphony is brilliantly done in its simplicity, yet there's a small section of it that didn't quite work for me. This is where Olivas ties all the story lines with small accounts or episodes by using text messages, interviews, or just dialogue between the characters. What didn't work so well for me? Interviewing the characters pulled me out of the story and dispelled some of the magic that Olivas so beautifully creates throughout most of the book.

There's a correlation between The Book of Want and the Ten Commandments, however not at all in a religious way. Happiness, love, acceptance, sorrow, friendship, and of course want are all subjects covered in this 121 page book by Mr. Olivas. For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed Daniel A. Olivas' approach to this family's story. I was particularly taken with the way Mr. Olivas focuses his use of magical realism closely to the Mexican-American culture while social realism encompasses the story as a whole, and through it all the humor and wit that abounds from beginning to end makes The Book of Want a delightful read.

❁❁❁❁❁❁

About the Author: Daniel is the author of six books including his first full-length novel, The Book of Want, which was published by the University of Arizona Press in March 2011. He is also editor of the landmark anthology, Latinos in Lotusland (Bilingual Press, 2008), which brings together 60 years of Los Angeles fiction by Latino writers. Daniel's writing has been widely anthologized (including in two Norton anthologies). He blogs each Monday on La Bloga, the blog dedicated to Chicano and Latino literature.

Daniel, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, grew up near the Pico-Union and Koreatown neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He now makes his home in the San Fernando Valley with his wife and son. Daniel received his degree in English literature from Stanford University and law degree from UCLA. He is a supervising deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice in the Public Rights Division.

------------
Category: Literary Fiction
Series: Camino del Sol: A Latino and Latina Literary Series
Publisher/Release Date: University of Arizona Press/March 4, 2011
Source: University of Arizona Press
Grade: B

Visit Daniel A. Olivas here.

Minis: Garcia Marquez, Kresley Cole, Rick Riordan

Today, I have three of my ini-mini, short first impressions for you. These are books that I've read, or attempted to read, but didn't share with you at the time.

In a Latin American port city during colonial times, a young girl named Sierva Maria de Todos los Angeles the only child of the ineffectual Marquis de Casalduero is bitten by a rabid dog. Her father, who has shown no interest in the child, begins a crusade to save her life, eventually committing her to the Convent of Santa Clara when the bishop persuades him that his daughter is possessed by demons. In fact, Sierva Maria has shown no signs of being infected by rabies or by demons; she is simply being punished for being different. Having been raised by the family's slaves, she knows their languages and wears their Santeria necklaces; she is perceived by the effete European Americans around her as "not of this world." Only the priest who has reluctantly accepted the job as her exorcist believes she is neither sick nor possessed but terrified after being inexplicably "interred alive" among the superstitious nuns.

A couple of months back I picked up Del Amor y Otros Demonios by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Of Love and Other Demons) again, Marquez' last work of fiction written in 1996. I've attempted reading this short work twice before and haven't been able to get past the 30th page. This has nothing to do with the quality of the writing, instead I'm affected negatively by the content because of personal baggage. This time I got as far as half-way through the book before going to bed and had nightmares. I didn't have the heart to pick it up again the next day. Maybe later on I'll see if I can finish it, get rid of that baggage, just give it a push, have one more nightmare and see how it all ends. LOL!

----------

A DANGEROUS DEMON SHE CAN’T RESIST . . .
Malkom Slaine: tormented by his sordid past and racked by vampiric hungers, he’s pushed to the brink by the green-eyed beauty under his guard.

A MADDENING WITCH HE ACHES TO CLAIM . . .
Carrow Graie: hiding her own sorrows, she lives only for the next party or prank. Until she meets a tortured warrior worth saving.

TRAPPED TOGETHER IN A SAVAGE PRISON . . .
In order for Malkom and Carrow to survive, he must unleash both the demon and vampire inside him. When Malkom becomes the nightmare his own people feared, will he lose the woman he craves body and soul?

Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole was an interesting mix for me. I loved the hero, Malkom, in that book. He was just so darn sweet! I don't even know how to say it, but he's hot and sweet at the same time. There he was, a Vemon and considered an abomination (even in his own mind), and after all that time alone considering himself a monster, Malkom's heart and goodness were pretty much intact. I hurt for him and for a while I couldn't stand the heroine -- Carrow -- because she knowingly used him and was going to hurt him. He didn't deserve it. Malkom's character made this story enjoyable for me. The plot was interesting and it did move the overall storyarc forward slightly, so I'll definitely read Regin and Aidan/Chase's story, Dreams of a Dark Warrior. I can't wait to read how Cole redeems Aidan. :)

----------

Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.
One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.
Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is another book I read a while back. A buddy review with Nath is on the works for Breezing Through. This is definitely a fast paced adventure and quite exciting. A story about a brother and sister of mixed ethnic background who lose their father and suddenly find themselves in the center of a battle between worlds and gods. There's magic, Egyptian-based mythology, gods, and enough creepy crawlies to make this a really fun read. The premise is similar to the Percy and the Olympians series, but that's about it. The rest is quite original and I didn't feel as if I were reading the same books. The kids are great and different. The situations and villains are dangerous and the action and pace make this 516 page book seem short.

The Red Pyramid - Orannia's 2010 Big Book Challenge

A thought on nostalgia vs. reality... and Pasado Perfecto by Leonardo Padura

As I began reading Pasado Perfecto by Leonardo Padura, almost immediately I came across a passage that caught my attention:

Se puso los espejuelos oscuros y caminó hacia la parada de la guagua pensando que el aspecto del barrio debía de ser como el suyo: una especie de paisaje después de una batalla casi devastadora, y sintió que algo se resentía en su memoria más afectiva. La realidad visible de la Calzada contrastaba con la imagen almibarada del recuerdo de aquella misma calle, una imagen que había llegado a preguntarse si en verdad era real, si la heredaba de la nostalgia histórica de los cuentos de su abuelo o simplemente la habia inventado para tranquilizar al pasado.

Translation: (done by me: any errors found are mine)

He put on his sunglasses and walked to the bus stop, thinking that the neighborhood looked a lot like him: like a landscape after a devastating battle, and something became offended in his most affective memory. The visible reality of the Calzada contrasted with the sweet, syrupy images he remembered of that same street, and he asked himself if that image was a real one, if he had inherited it from his grandfather's historical and nostalgic tales, or if he had simply invented them to calm the past.

Yes, I thought when I read el Conde's reflection about his neighborhood and the street where he grew up, that's exactly right. How often do we change the past to suit our needs? How often do our memories deceive us when nostalgia takes over to make places, things, or events, beautiful, right, or acceptable when in reality they were not?

Such a shocking thing, to deal with stark reality and see that street for what it really is... for what it probably always was -- except maybe in fantasy-filled memories or those glorious moments of self-deception that often come with nostalgia.  Pasado Perfecto... "a perfect past."