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The Plaza

by Guillermo Paxton (Goodreads Author)

4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 · rating details · 24 ratings · 11 reviews

Plaza-in Mexican culture, a slang word describing the territory of a certain cartel.

"I've been a reporter for years, and a resident of Juarez, Mexico all of my life. I've never seen anything like it. No one thought the drug war would be like this...My town has become the battleground for drug cartels. Even the police are being killed on a daily basis. Bands of teenagers wo...more Plaza-in Mexican culture, a slang word describing the territory of a certain cartel.

"I've been a reporter for years, and a resident of Juarez, Mexico all of my life. I've never seen anything like it. No one thought the drug war would be like this...My town has become the battleground for drug cartels. Even the police are being killed on a daily basis. Bands of teenagers working as paid assassins & extortionists are hitting every business, no matter how small. Things I took for granted like going to a restaurant, getting a haircut, or even an evening at the movies with my family put all our lives in danger. Robberies and public executions have become common place. Now when I report only five homicides in twenty-four hours, it is considered a good day." - Saul Saavedra, crime reporter for The Juarez Daily in THE PLAZA.

Saul Saavedra is a crime reporter for the Juarez Daily newspaper. In just a year’s time he saw his city change from decent place to live and work to a crime-infested inferno. He reports the happenings in a city that is experiencing total social decay and writes against the government that at best does nothing about it. Two major drug cartels battle it out in Juarez and Saul soon finds himself in the crossfire between La Linea and the Sinaloa Cartel.

Guns for hire are a dime a dozen in a war among cartels, but Felipe stands out as one of the best. His only love is for money, or so he believes, until he meets a beautiful young prostitute named Ruby. As he rises in the ranks of La Linea his relationship with Ruby changes as well, and soon he learns that she too has a taste for blood.

Thousands of Mexicans are deported to Mexico every year, Juarez being a dumping ground for many. Some are convicts that have spent years in federal prison and now have lost their status as residents. Juan, a psychopathic killer, is given the option to return to Mexico or finish out his sentence in the federal penitentiary. For him the choice is obvious and he soon finds himself at home in violent Juarez and finds work in the Sinaloa Cartel.

Based on true events in the city of Juarez, The Plaza is about the people, the government and the cartels that make up both the innocent victims and the criminals that are the pawns in the drug war of Mexico.(less)

Paperback, 284 pages

Published May 1st 2012 by No Frills Buffalo (first published February 1st 2012)

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Sep 12, 2012 Sadie Forsythe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not sure how to classify this book. It didn't strike me as a novel. There was no single main character, obstacle to overcome, or satisfying conclusion to a challenge. If anything, it struck me as a memoir of a place (Juarez). The book explores the devastating and destabilising effect of the Mexican government's war on drugs by chronicling the lives and deaths of those affected by the cartels' increasingly violent bids for power. The subject matter was really interesting. It isn't something I...more I'm not sure how to classify this book. It didn't strike me as a novel. There was no single main character, obstacle to overcome, or satisfying conclusion to a challenge. If anything, it struck me as a memoir of a place (Juarez). The book explores the devastating and destabilising effect of the Mexican government's war on drugs by chronicling the lives and deaths of those affected by the cartels' increasingly violent bids for power. The subject matter was really interesting. It isn't something I know much about. Pat titles like "the war on drugs" or terror or whatever roll nicely off the tongue, but not infrequently we tend to forget that somewhere far away from our comfortable lives that saying is a reality. It really is a WAR and people are dying. The Plaza effectively reminds the reader of this and is therefore important.

I did find it repetitive at times. The chauvinistic nature of Mexican culture and the rarity of women moving into positions of power was twice highlighted using the case of Michelle, for example. I actually thought I was on the wrong page and reading the same passage for a moment, because the two sections were so similar. There were a couple such occurrences. I also didn't see the point of the serial pedophiliac rapist. Unless it was meant to highlight the fact that a side effect of the mafia wars was that the police were too distracted to look for non-drug related criminals (which was made elsewhere, also in reference to young girls disappearing), I didn't understand how Juan related to the story. It felt like it was just an added titillating element, an unpleasant one at that.

I would have liked to know how the author was related to the events. Is he one of the characters, related to someone in one of the mafias, someone who lived in Juarez at the time, someone unrelated but interested enough to do some research, or is the book a completely fictionalised account based on the circumstances in Mexico? Regardless, if you are interested in how America's exportation of the 'War on Drugs' is being played out in other places The Plaza is one for the TBR list. (less)

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Jun 11, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I received this book as a contest winner in Goodreads First Reads. Inside the book I was pleased to see a personal inscription as well as a letter from the author, which were genuinely nice to see and read.
This is not your typical novel, in that it is based on true events in the city of Juarez, Mexico. The book details the lives of a few of the people who live in the city, from a honest crime reporter, to psychopathic gang members. I have read about the violence in Juarez in a few other books, a...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Jailynn Marcus rated it 5 of 5 stars

From the opening sequence to the last bullet this book will keep you captivated! I could not put this book down which is rare for me since I haven't found a book this great in a very long time. The way Mr. Paxton develops the story and engages the reader will have you turning page after page until the incredible ending. I highly recommend this book as it gives a profound look and deep perspective into life in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. This book is also unique since the autho...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Tiffany Steen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read

Guillermo Paxton’s “The Plaza” offers a frightening (based on true events) glimpse into the horrific crimes going down in Juarez, Mexico. The story is fast paced, brutally gruesome, and totally eye-opening for those of us who couldn’t imagine living in the middle of a war zone brought about by drug cartels and dirty cops. I actually smiled at the end when a totally selfish character lost his head (it was totally deserved)! It takes a brave person to write about the kind of corruption going unpun...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Dan Wright rated it 5 of 5 stars

Imagine a city beset by crime and violence, where the drug cartels and the mafia reign supreme. This is a city where crime and violence are a regular occurrence, where innocent (and not so innocent) blood is shed every single day. A city where even the police offer no support and are just as corrupt as the gangsters that run the city. It a city full of fear and terror, a place where no one is safe and even children are subjected to the horrors of this city.

What I’ve described to you may sound li...more Imagine a city beset by crime and violence, where the drug cartels and the mafia reign supreme. This is a city where crime and violence are a regular occurrence, where innocent (and not so innocent) blood is shed every single day. A city where even the police offer no support and are just as corrupt as the gangsters that run the city. It a city full of fear and terror, a place where no one is safe and even children are subjected to the horrors of this city.

What I’ve described to you may sound like the beginning of some kind of fictional crime story – but in actual fact, in this instance, this reality is very real! I am referring to the city of Juarez, Mexico, a place besieged by crime as the drug lords battle for supremacy, willing to murder anyone who gets in their way. Written by a former resident of Juarez, Guillermo Paxton (who apparently suffered abuse whilst investigating the death of a reporter in Juarez), The Plaza is a harrowing tale that is not for the faint of heart and a novel that has left me feeling emotional unstable like no other book has before.

The Plaza is not just one story, but several intertwining tales that show the reader the two sides of life in Juarez. Those of the drug cartels that are running the city into the ground, and of the innocent lives who are caught in the crossfire and destroyed for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Saul is a reporter for the Juarez Daily, paper and one of the truly decent people in the novel. He is a man that remembers the days before the drug wars, when Juarez was a good city and he reports on the incidents in the city in the hope that he can bring awareness of the horror to others. He is worried for his family and seeks to protect them where he can, but he is fighting a losing battle. I really felt for Saul and wanted him to succeed, or find a place of safety. Unfortunately, things don’t go his way – and whilst I do not wish to give spoilers, his eventual fate is one of the most heart wrenching scenes I have ever read in a book.

The other characters in the book are major players within the rival cartels – and they are horrific characters, willing to torture, or even kill, those that cross them. Or even those that just happen to be in their path at the wrong time. Two stand out characters are Felipe and Juan. Felipe is a hired gun working for La Linea, Juan is a deported criminal that is hired for the Sinaloa Cartel.

Felipe is a cold blooded killer, but the novel doesn’t necessarily paint him as an evil man – just someone who lives his life the only way he knows how. In Juarez, only the strong survive and Felipe is one tough S.O.B., caring only for money, drink and women. Until he meets a prostitute named Ruby, whom he falls in love with. She brings out a side of him that he never realised he had and he, in turn, brings out a dangerous side to Ruby. But the two genuinely love each other and their love story is almost a light relief from the terror that fills out the rest of the novel. Felipe also does, to an extent have some emotions and it’s interesting the way he tries to keep these bottled up inside, but you can sense he wants to emote. So whilst he was a monster, he is at least an interest, well thought out character with some likeable traits.

The same cannot be said for Juan. He is, without a doubt, one of the most despicable characters in the book – possibly in fiction itself. This man will rape, murder and torture people just because he feels like it. All throughout the book, when not committing deeds for Sinaloa, he is kidnapping and raping women (even underaged ones) to death, all so he can satisfy his sick desires. The scenes where he does these are some of the sickest I’ve ever read in a book and it even chills me to just mention them. Juan is a man without morals, the absolutely lowest scum on the planet – and he fits perfectly in Juarez, as he can commit these horrible actions without any fear of arrest or consequence. Luckily (SPOILERS AHEAD), he does get his comeuppance eventually – and this was one of the few times I was actually thankful to see a character die.

Death is a major theme is this story – and it can come out of anywhere. Even a scene that seems normal can end up in violence and death just like that. And anyone can be caught in this, even children. I actually found myself getting a little tearful now and then reading this – it really made me feel for the people of Juarez, knowing that they have to live with this chaos. Worst still, the government, the people that are supposed to have the interests of the people at heart, do nothing to stop it. At best, all they do is send in more troopers, but this just exacerbates the problem and causes more violence.

If this were just fiction, I’m not sure I would be as affected by it as much. But because this is all based on true events (though which ones are real and which are not is left up to the reader to decide) it makes reading this that much harder to read and makes the message that much more powerful. Much like The Wire, which portrays a realistic interpretation of West Baltimore, The Plaza is a gritty, bleak and hopeless outlook on Juarez, a city lost to crime and death.

I think The Plaza is not one of these books that has to be read – it NEEDS to be read. Even if it’s just to spread awareness of the problems in Juarez, this book is a “wake up and see” tale that I think people need to know about. It is a real tearjerker and not easy reading, but then the subject matter is not intended to be a fairy tale. I should also mention that the proceeds made from this book are sent to help Juarez orphans, so even by buying a copy, you are doing your bit to help the cause. I personally give this book my highest possible recommendation.(less)

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Jul 25, 2012 Jayne M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Plaza provides a deeply atmospheric immersion into what's going currently going on in Mexico- a subject often in the news but never so fully explored. I found it compelling and a surprisingly easy read, given the subject matter. Paxton is an engaging writer and has accomplished the rare feat of producing a first novel of great merit that engages the reader emotionally as well as educates and informs without being didactic.
My only wish would be for more fully developed female characters to en...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Carmen Amato rated it 4 of 5 stars

Authentic and packs a powerful message. The vignette style makes it read a bit differently than the usual novel. Best parts are when the author goes deep inside the cartels and shows their lifestyle.

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Jul 10, 2012 Rose Cimarron marked it as to-read

Shelves: fiction, first-reads, owned-unread, paperback

[2012-07-10] Yay! My book has arrived :-) the postal service from the US is really swift! Thanks GP.

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Jul 05, 2012 Rita rated it 3 of 5 stars

Won this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. This was a good book and well written. I enjoyed the point of view to which the author uses for the novel. I recommend this book to anyone especially anyone who enjoys the genre.

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Apr 17, 2013 Dan Porter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction-novel, dark-tales

My review of The Plaza is posted on The Chaotic Reader.

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Aug 25, 2012 Emmanuelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

It was ok. I didn't find the story to be all that thrilling. However, I think to the one who prefers this genre, it's a good read.

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May 07, 2013 Arial Mcspadden rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Dec 13, 2012 Patricia Graham rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Oct 23, 2012 Joseph rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Sep 26, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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About Guillermo Paxton

Guillermo Paxton and his family lived in Juarez, Mexico and he researched the escalating violence from 2008 until 2011 when he was forced to leave.

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