The Gods Go Begging

Not a Spoiler, just an invitation. I'm not a reviewer, can't ever pretend to be, because 'dispassionate' is not in my vocabulary if I love a book inordinately. Gods Go Begging by Alfredo Vea will stick in this brain for good, in the best possible way. I almost didn't purchase this novel because of the book jacket-a picture of the back view of a solitary guitar/rifle/gas mask toting soldier in half regalia standing on what looks like an airport runway, a small bag with a Vietnam insignia resting by his boot. I assumed a story predominantly about war in the conventional sense. Could not have been more mistaken.There are at least four wars being *raged* here among these taut and yet simultaneously lovely pages, all framed within rich language and insightful narrative.Jesse Pasadoble is a defense attorney in San Francisco waging a war against the stupidity of the typical clients and prejudice in the courtroom. He is joined frequently in the courtroom, in the cafe, and in his daily life by others who share their recollections both of darkly humorous cases and the unacceptable unmentionable dark sides which eventually seal off all human beings from one another. After a crime of tragedic proportions occurs, Jesse's story and that of the victims and the perpetrators, here and now, plus the unmanageable then on another hill in Vietnam thirty years ago, unfold. What follows comprises an incredible novel of pain and waste, devastation and redemption, caring and investigation, revealed by passionate observation of the lunacy of existence through careful, perfect words.. But, and this is a big *but*, the novel flows like silk through the counterpoints of love, ultimate sadness, and intense meaning.This is a modern day lawyer, detective story which encompasses inner city bleakness, evil, post traumatic shock syndrome, our *lovely* court system, the inability to share ourselves while our very core cries out to do just so, and a sense that metaphysical, mystical reality is just as real as beans.My bottom line is that while the ideas and emotion rage rampant, the narrative is superb, nearly perfect. What a terrific story. I think it is very, very big in heart and scope, possessing a duality of the mundane and the metaphysical which meld perfectly for the reader, especially toward the conclusion of the novel.I always yearn for the elusive words which are not forthcoming, those orbs needed for adequate expression, but inchoate, they are yet imbedded in the soul of this reader. Accused of hyperbole, so be it. This is one fine book.

With the accuracy and magic of O 'Brien's IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS, and the lush prose of James Lee Burke, Véa creates his own, individualistic style in this gripping novel of endless, conquering love, useless hate, futile death, and redemption of the human spirit. Trite as it may sound, Véa's themes are unique. His characters are fully rounded and three-dimensional, from Jesse Passadoble, the tormented lawyer to the Padre, the all-religious everyman who encompasses all forms of belief and must suffer before he too can heal and be healed. I do not doubt Véa's accuracy whether he is writing of war, crime in the street, or prison. His voice is strong and vivid. I cannot wait to read everything else he has written, while wondering why I have not heard of this stunning author before now.

Where has Alfredo Vea been? Or rather, why haven't I heard about him before? Pick up a copy of GODS GO BEGGING and you'll see that Vea is one of America's unknown literary masters. I just saw Vea at the Inter-American book festival in San Antonio and he was incredible. (So many of the other writers, Sandra Cisneros included, seemed so provincial and limited in comparison.) I immediately bought GODS GO BEGGING and was overwhelmed by the complex and riveting narrative and scope of imagination; the novel is destined to be one of the landmark works of fiction this decade. Spanning the themes of displacement, war, violence, love and race, it reads like a contemporary WAR and PEACE, written by a participant, not an observer. Buy it asap and spread the word.

I first read a review of this novel in the California Lawyer,a magazine distributed to the legal community in California. As a member of the criminal defense bar in California and an African American woman, I found the book to be incredibly authentic. Each criminal defendant, from the "supreme being" to the child molester who received over 100 years in prison, represents a defendant I have represented in the past 11 years. More importantly, I found that the book and all of it's 'themes' flowed together. The book describes the devestation which occurred in the Vietnam War and the "babies" which were killed during the war. It also accurately portrayed the plight of several Vietnam vets once they came back to the United States after fighting for 'their country', particularly Mr. Homeless. I appreciated and respected the fact that the author took the time to develop the true impact of the war on those who survived yet never forgot and will always remember, namely Jesse. I also found the authors ability to compare the war in Vietnam with the war that is being waged and fought every single day in every inner city and every courthouse for 'justice'to be absolutely incredible. As a criminal defense attorney, justice is war! This is probably one of the best books that I have read in a very long time. I related most of all to the war stories which always begin with " I once had a guy......."

Belongs on the list of the top ten novels of the 90s. To call Gods Go Begging a "Vietnam novel" or a "Chicano novel" would miss the deepest point. It's true that it ranks with The Things They Carried and Paco's Story as the best fiction written by a Vietnam vet; its primary competition for the deepest novel written by a Chicano is Vea's own La Maravilla. But the real peers of Gods Go Begging are the novels of Dostoevsky, Melville, Faulkner, Toni Morrison, Leslie Silko, Thomas Mann...choose your own favorite. Vea takes us from Vietnam to the war zones of urban America, wresting a vision of hope from the bits and pieces of contemporary despair. "Desire without humanity is war." The sentences are brilliant, the vision profound. Read it. Share it.