Synopses & Reviews
We slipped into this country like thieves, onto the land that once was ours. So begins The Madonnas of Echo Park, the 2011 Hemingway Foundation/Pen Award winning novel by Brando Skyhorse. These words, spoken by an illegal Mexican day laborer, introduce us to the unseen world of Los Angeles, following the men and women who cook the meals, clean the homes, and struggle to lose their ethnic identity in the pursuit of the American dream.
When a dozen or so girls and mothers gather on an Echo Park street corner to act out a scene from a Madonna music video, they find themselves caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. In the aftermath, Aurora Esperanza grows distant from her mother, Felicia, who as a housekeeper in the Hollywood Hills establishes a unique relationship with a detached housewife.
The Esperanzas’ shifting lives connect with those of various members of their neighborhood. A day laborer trolls the streets for work with men half his age and witnesses a murder that pits his morality against his illegal status; a religious hypocrite gets her comeuppance when she meets the Virgin Mary at a bus stop on Sunset Boulevard; a typical bus route turns violent when cultures and egos collide in the night, with devastating results; and Aurora goes on a journey through her gentrified childhood neighborhood in a quest to discover her own history and her place in the land that all Mexican Americans dream of, "the land that belongs to us again."
Like the Academy Award-winning film Crash, The Madonnas of Echo Park follows the intersections of its characters and cultures in Los Angeles. In the footsteps of Junot DÍaz and Sherman Alexie, Brando Skyhorse in his debut novel gives voice to one neighborhood in Los Angeles with an astonishing— and unforgettable—lyrical power.
Review
"[V]ivid...These are the people we pass every day and never give much thought.? Now Skyhorse demands our attention as he deftly humanizes their stories...Eye-opening and haunting, Skyhorse's novel will jolt readers out of their complacence." —Booklist
Review
"Skyhorse's stunning debut about Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles—reminiscent of books by Gloria Naylor, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Kazuo Ishiguro—is a powerful novel about the loneliness and interconnectedness of its characters." —Tova Beiser, Brown University Bookstore
Review
“The hard, bitter grit of life in Echo Park, especially for women, is made quite wonderful by warmth and bright color, humor and compassion; in its keenly felt insight into the human condition, Echo Park is the world: this is who we are, like it or not.? Altogether a terrific book by a highly accomplished new author – where has he been?” – Peter Matthiessen, National Book Award-winning author of Shadow Country and The Snow Leopard
Review
"In this insightful book, Brando Skyhorse reveals himself to be a trenchant and passionate observer of the forgotten underclasses of Los Angeles.? He's fashioned a desperate La Ronde for Echo Park and a requiem for the '80s."-- Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside
Review
"In this gorgeous and suspenseful book the admirably talented Brando Skyhorse takes his readers to a kingdom that he has made very much his own, Echo Park, California. I loved reading about his richly imagined characters, both Mexican and American, and how their lives intersect with our much more familiar versions of Los Angeles." —Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street & Eva Moves the Furniture
Review
"A beautiful sweep of Los Angeles, told through multiple viewpoints that showcase Brando Skyhorse's breadth.?
The Madonnas of Echo Park is a terrific journey, where characters re-emerge unexpectedly until by the end, the book has created a full and vivid world."
—Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures
Review
"Brando Skyhorse writes with great compassion and wit (and a touch of magic)? about the lives of people who are often treated as if they are invisible.?? The stories that make up this novel weave together to create a complex and vivid portrait of a Los Angeles we seldom see in literature or film.?
The Madonnas of Echo Park is a memorable literary debut."????
—Dan Chaon,?? author of Await Your Reply
Review
"First-time novelist Skyhorse offers a poignant yet unsentimental homage to Echo Park, a working-class neighborhood in east Los Angeles where everyone struggled to blend in with American society but remains tied to the traditions of Mexico...Essential for fans of Sherman Alexie or Sandra Cisneros but with universal appeal for readers who favor in-depth character-centered stories, this is enthusiastically recommended." - Library Journal (starred review)
Review
"Vivid...Skyhorse excels at building a vibrant community and presenting several perspectives on what it means to be Mexican in America, from those who wonder "how can you lose something that never belonged to you?" to those who miraculously find it."
—Publishers Weekly
Review
#1 Bestseller, The Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver
Review
"Skyhorse is at his best when exploring the changing world of Echo Park...His careful attention to detail, to a rich past of a place that served as home to Mexican Americans already once displaced from Chavez Ravine, is thoroughly researched and executed-- no easy feat while juggling multiple characters and timeframes...the focus on Mexican American characters is admirable."
Review
andlt;divandgt;"To embrace a community, to capture its fabric, to syncopate its rhythms, lives, views and experiences is a difficult feat.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"A revelation...the summer's most original read...extraordinary...The novel is richly detailed, offering varying perspectives that collide into a singular narrative from an evolving neighborhood in the shadow of downtown L.A. (Think Gabriel García Márquez fused with Junot Díaz.)...The immigrant experience may very well be the defining narrative of the United States in the 21st century.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Rich and textured...As the intricate tale unwinds, we're offered glimpses of...eight residents, whose ordinary, working-class lives intersect under often extraordinary circumstances...Skyhorse propels the reader through the novel at a breakneck pace.
Review
"If timeliness and social relevance don't sell you on the book, then read it for its beautifully imperfect characters, the wise certainty of its prose, its satisfying emotional heftand#8230;Elegantly written...The book cleverly expresses the tangled nature of multicultural identity and the physical geography of off-the-grid Echo Park."
Review
andlt;Bandgt;Winnerof the Pen/Hemingway Award and the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fictionandlt;/Bandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Winnerof the Pen/Hemingway Award and the
Review
"To embrace a community, to capture its fabric, to syncopate its rhythms, lives, views and experiences is a difficult feat. But Brando Skyhorse manages to do just that with his breathtaking and, at times, soul-churning novel...Skyhorse [finds] breadth and diversity in Echo Park...Stories zigzag through the book, introducing lives unique and full, bisecting one another at times, standing at solitary edges at others...we are carried away by this intricately crafted tale. Taken together, the tales spin around the axis of a few streets yet splinter off into infinite dimensions."
Review
and#8220;A revelationand#8230;the summerand#8217;s most original readand#8230;extraordinaryand#8230;The novel is richly detailed, offering varying perspectives that collide into a singular narrative from an evolving neighborhood in the shadow of downtown L.A. (Think Gabriel Garcand#237;a Mand#225;rquez fused with Junot Dand#237;az.)and#8230;The immigrant experience may very well be the defining narrative of the United States in the 21st century. When juxtaposed against its literary rival, the self-confession, the results can be breathtaking as exhibited by Skyhorseand#8217;s startling authorand#8217;s note at the start of the bookand#8230;powerful.and#8221;
Review
"Rich and textured...As the intricate tale unwinds, we're offered glimpses of...eight residents, whose ordinary, working-class lives intersect under often extraordinary circumstances...Skyhorse propels the reader through the novel at a breakneck pace. And in each section, readers are rewarded with a deeper layer, and a new connection, that enriches the plot...Skyhorse uses elegant prose and vivid storytelling to tackle questions surrounding culture, belonging, and identity that haunt every immigrant community."
Synopsis
Reminiscent of Luis Alberto Urrea and Dinaw Mengestu, The Madonnas of Echo Park is a brilliant and genuinely fresh view of American life.
The Madonnas of Echo Park is both a grand mural of a Los Angeles neighborhood and an intimate glimpse into the lives of the men and women who struggle to lose their ethnic identity in the pursuit of the American dream. Each chapter summons a different voice--poetic, fierce, comic. We meet Hector, a day laborer who trolls the streets for work and witnesses a murder that pits his morality against his illegal status; his ex-wife Felicia, who narrowly survives a shooting and lands a cleaning job in a Hollywood Hills house as desolate as its owner; and young Aurora, who journeys through her now gentrified childhood neighborhood to discover her own history and her place in the land that all Mexican-Americans dream of, "the land that belongs to us again."
Reminiscent of Luis Alberto Urrea and Dinaw Mengestu, The Madonnas of Echo Park is a brilliant and genuinely fresh view of American life.
Synopsis
Reminiscent of Sherman Alexie and Sandra Cisneros, acclaimed author Brando Skyhorse's "engaging storytelling" (Vanity Fair) brings the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles to life in this poignant and propulsive novel following several generations of Mexican immigrants through their shifting cultural and physical landscapes. The Madonnas of Echo Park is both a grand mural of a Los Angeles neighborhood and an intimate glimpse into the lives of the men and women who struggle to lose their ethnic identity in the pursuit of the American dream. Each chapter summons a different voice--poetic, fierce, comic. We meet Hector, a day laborer who trolls the streets for work and witnesses a murder that pits his morality against his illegal status; his ex-wife Felicia, who narrowly survives a shooting and lands a cleaning job in a Hollywood Hills house as desolate as its owner; and young Aurora, who journeys through her now gentrified childhood neighborhood to discover her own history and her place in the land that all Mexican-Americans dream of, "the land that belongs to us again."
Reminiscent of Luis Alberto Urrea and Dinaw Mengestu, The Madonnas of Echo Park is a brilliant and genuinely fresh view of American life.
Synopsis
andlt;Iandgt;The Madonnas of Echo Parkandlt;/Iandgt; is both a grand mural of a Los Angeles neighborhood and an intimate glimpse into the lives of the men and women who struggle to lose their ethnic identity in the pursuit of the American dream. Each chapter summons a different voiceand#8212;poetic, fierce, comic. We meet Hector, a day laborer who trolls the streets for work and witnesses a murder that pits his morality against his illegal status; his ex-wife Felicia, who narrowly survives a shooting and lands a cleaning job in a Hollywood Hills house as desolate as its owner; and young Aurora, who journeys through her now gentrified childhood neighborhood to discover her own history and her place in the land that all Mexican-Americans dream of, and#8220;the land that belongs to us again.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Reminiscent of Luis Alberto Urrea and Dinaw Mengestu, andlt;iandgt;The Madonnas of Echo Parkandlt;/iandgt; is a brilliant and genuinely fresh view of American life.
About the Author
Brando Skyhorseand#8217;s debut novel, andlt;iandgt;The Madonnas of Echo Parkandlt;/iandgt;, received the 2011 PEN/Hemingway Award and the Sue Kaufman Award for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The book was also a Barnes andamp; Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. He has been awarded fellowships at Ucross and Can Serrat, Spain. Skyhorse is a graduate of Stanford University and the MFA Writersand#8217; Workshop program at UC Irvine. He is the 2014 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-In-Washington at George Washington University.andnbsp;