Synopses & Reviews
At the country's edge, on the Mexican border, Brownsville, Texas, is a town like many others. It is a place where men and women work hard to create better lives for their families, where people sometimes bear grudges against their neighbors, where love blossoms only to fade, and where the one real certainty is that life holds surprises.
In his sparkling debut, Oscar Casares creates a cast of unforgettable characters confronting everyday possibilities and contradictions: Diego, an eleven-year-old whose job at a fireworks stand teaches him a lesson in defiance; Bony, a young man whose discovery of a monkey's head on his lawn drives a wedge between him and his parents; Lola, whose stolen bowling ball offers an unlikely chance for change. The achievement of Brownsville lies in its remarkably honest portrayal of these lives-the lives of people whose dreams and yearnings and regrets are at once unique and universal.
Review
"Read it in a single sitting. Not just because it's short but because it's clear, straightforward, and gripping. Some of it sad, some of it funny, all of it emotionally and culturally accurate. Sharp portraits, terrific dialogue, just enough scenery, and he ends a story where he should. If this is his literary debut, it's a damn good one."
Stephen Dixon, author of Interstate and I
Review
"These stories are clear-eyed and fresh, full of sweet gravity and pensive humor. Oscar Casares is an exceptional writer."
Marilynne Robinson, author of Housekeeping
Review
"At the beginning it was so quiet, all that could be heard were the soft strums of Américo Paredes. Then came the voice out of San Marcos, Mercedes, and Laredo, such distant sounds they seemed underground. A few hit tunes crackled out of El Paso, San Antonio, Corpus Christi. Now listen to Brownsville, where Oscar Casares, dressed like the finest charro, is headlining. Sit back. You will hear him."
Dagoberto Gilb, author of Woodcuts of Women
Synopsis
"Terrific stories...Just about perfect" (Entertainment Weekly): Brownsville is the collection that established Oscar Casares as one of the leading voices in the literature of the modern Southwest.
At the country's edge, on the Mexican border, Brownsville, Texas, is a town like many others. It is a place where people work hard to create better lives for their children, where people bear grudges against their neighbors, where love blossoms only to fade, and where the only real certainty is that life holds surprises.
In his sparkling debut, Oscar Casares creates a cast of unforgettable characters confronting everyday possibilities and contradictions: Diego, an eleven-year-old whose job at a fireworks stand teaches him a lesson in defiance; Bony, a young man whose discovery of a monkey's head on his lawn drives a wedge between him and his parents; Lola, whose stolen bowling ball offers an unlikely chance for change. The achievement of Brownsville lies in its remarkably honest portrayal of these lives -- the lives of people whose dreams and yearnings and regrets are at once unique and universal.
"Marvelous...Brownsville resembles early Steinbeck work more than anything else." --Carolyn See, Washington Post
Synopsis
At the country's edge, on the Mexican border, Brownsville, Texas, is a town like many others. It is a place where people work hard to create better lives for their children, where people bear grudges against their neighbors, where love blossoms only to fade, and where the only real certainty is that life holds surprises.
Table of Contents
Mr. Z --RG --Chango --Domingo --Big Jesse, little Jesse --Charro --Jerry Fuentes --Yolanda --Mrs. Perez