Brownsville

As a Brownsville native, born and raised, I had high expectations for this book and it meet them all. The book really captures the spirit of the city and it's citizens. The stories take place before the city grew into what it is today, when it still had small town vibes, and it brought back a sense of nostalgia for that time. The stories are very entertaining, even if you are not familiar with the area.

Book was in the condition as was described by seller. Shipping was fast and packaging was good and safe.

I've never been to Brownsville. You don't have to know the town to get something out of this. This was one of those books that didn't exactly hit me over the head when I read it, but that stayed in the back of my mind afterward. The stories start out small and plain and then turn into unexpected things.

I was a guero living in the Valley for several years and pretty much any evocation of that place gets me misty-eyed. (The line "Everybody has their Harlingen" from the film Selena gets me every time) This book is spot-on. Ni una false note. But the best thing is that these stories are great even if you've never been there. As another reviewer said, these sad funny stories are full of grace. I'll never forget these characters. This kind of artless, unpretentious narration has got to be the hardest kind to pull off. Really great writing.

Frequently, when I mention that I used to live in Brownsville a member of the group listening takes me aside with a smile. We establish that they once lived there as well. We start relating stories about so and so Flores or Mr. Bahi who worked at "The Bridge". Being from this "Valley" border town is like being a member of a fraternity. We lived in a city with more personality than any other place I can think of. There is poverty, crime, danger and dirt. But the people are as colorful and charming as Mexicanamerican culture can produce. A family may be fresh from "across", starting to live the American dream next door to a family with a local history going back to the 1600's living next to a family of "Anglos" from Houston. I know all the people in Mr. Casares' short stories and plenty more with wacky or sad or funny or loving tales to tell. They are not always nice and far from perfect but they are fascinating and they are real.

My wife and I really enjoyed each one of the stories in this book, although we each had our favorites. As a first generation Latino living in Los Angeles, it was as though I knew or could otherwise relate to most of the characters in his book. The characters are both young and old, male and female. Most of the stories made me laugh, but I found "Domingo" and his loss the most heartfelt. I highly recommend this book.