A Dream for Gilberto: An Immigrant Family's Struggle to Become American

Simple prose that delivers a quick read reminscent of Hemingway's crafting. Every word counts and every sentence leads effortlessly to the next. This is the story of Gilberto, a real person, and his journey from depths of poverty, abuse and ignorance that middle class Americans can only understand third or fourth hand. Gilberto not only succeeded in every way (education, middle class respectability, an American citizenship) but he pulled an entire family back with him. The ending is bitter sweet. Entirely unpredictable...but satisfying. Disney did not influence this writer. The author views Gilberto's life from a 1950's post WWII perspective of American arrogance filtered again through our 1990's revisionist (and more mature) perspective. Fascinating. An almost four dimensional approach. Great story, well told and should find a building audience over time as word spreads about this remarkable book.

Here is a book the will give every American a good look at what life might have been like had he or she not had the good fortune to be born in this country and a better understanding of the people all around us who are brave enough to find their way to our shores and make the supreme effort to become an American. Billie Young tells the story well and I found it interesting from beginning to end.