false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172202298m/149373.jpg 149373 2 At the country's edge, on the Mexican border, Brownsville, Texas, is a town much like many others. It is a place where men and women work hard to create better lives for their children, where people sometimes bear grudges against their neighbors, where love blossoms only to fade, and where the only real certainty is that life holds surprises.<P>An entire galaxy of fascinating characters inhabit these stories. Meet Diego, an 11-year-old whose job at a fireworks stand teaches him a lesson in defiance. Meet Bony, a slacker whose discovery of a monkey's head on his lawn drives a wedge between him and his exasperated parents. Meet Lola, whose stolen bowling ball offers an unlikely chance for change. 144166 6 3 2003 Brownsville: Stories total:129|5:25|4:57|3:35|2:10|1:2| 129 480 171 31 4 2 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 19:09:26 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 18:19:16 -0700 2008
Every story is well crafted. He captures the sense of place w...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 09:07:37 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 11:01:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 05:36:12 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 08:07:27 -0700 2009
Brazos Bookstore is hosting Casares Tuesday night and I might go. If nothing else, this prompted me to pull this from my bookshelf yesterday and read it.
...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 13:35:16 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 23:18:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Oct 21 09:30:43 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 09:32:23 -0700 2009 2
If you have ever lived in or frequented South Texas, these short stories will hit home. Wonderful slices of life about life in a region you can only understand if you've lived it.]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 24 13:07:18 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 13:07:28 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 12:00:03 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 12:01:45 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 11:56:32 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 09:34:34 -0800 2008
I picked this up at a used bookstore when I was in the midst of a McMurtry jag and was in the mood to read anything "Texas". It turned out to be one of those bo...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Dec 31 05:00:04 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 07 17:21:34 -0800 2009
Although these stories lack pretension, they make up for that deficiency by being thoughtfull and funny. "Chango" may be the gem of the collection, but the love story, "Domingo", is the one I'll keep coming back for. ]]> 5 0 false false Mon Feb 23 20:03:36 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 20:04:30 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Dec 05 13:06:31 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 13:06:57 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Oct 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 12 21:32:13 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 06:50:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 13:56:25 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 11:34:21 -0700 2009
The philosophy of "If it's simple and works, don't complicate it" applies to these stories and is perfectly executed.]]> 3 0 true false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 03 08:21:04 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 22 07:43:32 -0700 2009
in any case, some highlights. "RW" is a powerful and understated story...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Thu May 03 16:28:40 -0700 2007 Sun May 06 13:18:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 14 12:00:52 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 14:46:27 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 12:00:52 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Sep 04 19:06:28 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 19:09:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 15:18:24 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 15:29:33 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 22 19:45:09 -0800 2007 Fri Feb 23 12:10:07 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Feb 26 06:11:45 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 26 18:41:30 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 26 18:41:30 -0800 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=149373