Poetry. Fiction. Cultural Writing. Latino/Latina studies. Translated from the Spanish by Evangelina Vigil-Pinon. . . . Y NO SE LO TRAGO LA TIERRA/ ...
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Dec 26, 2007
Monica
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I found myself flipping through it on Christmas Eve and came across a story called The Night Before Christmas, so of course, I had to read it. The story was beautiful and heart-wrenching, mimicking real life for many poor immigrant families.
I borrowed this one from a friend in an effort to save a few bucks on school books, but the more I read, the more I think I'm going to go ahead and buy my own copy. This is one I'll want to pick up long after this class is over.
I borrowed this one from a friend in an effort to save a few bucks on school books, but the more I read, the more I think I'm going to go ahead and buy my own copy. This is one I'll want to pick up long after this class is over.
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Apr 23, 2011
Aaron
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Feb 08, 2009
Jeanette
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This book is absolutely amazing in Spanish. It details the hardships and terrifying times of the migrant workers in the 40s and 50s. I found the English translation to be a very good one, but it does not capture the true feelings that are expressed in the Spanish version. I enjoyed learning the history from a personal perspective instead of learning it in a typical histoy book. The author of this book is very creative in the way he intertwines the different voices of each story into one powerfu
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Dec 28, 2009
Bill
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This collection of vignettes presents a slice of the Mexican migrant's life during the 40s and 50s. Most of these vignettes are prosaic and simplistic, yet they tend to paint concrete and memorable images. Five of them (The Children Couldn't Wait, Hand in His Pocket, It Was an Hour Before the Afternoon Movie Started, A Silvery Night, and the title piece, And the Earth Did Not Devour Him) were particularly noteworthy.
May 12, 2011
Chris
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For me, this was incredibly dull. It's nothing special, and wasn't on a topic I was particularly interested in. But there were several chapters that did pique my interest, and the writing style - switching narratives between unconnected characters all of whom are immigrants - was a neat twist. I could probably get much more interested in this novel if I were reading it in Spanish.
Sep 19, 2011
Alysa
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While I liked the author's writing style, I thought that he had a very pessimistic view of human nature. It is classified as a children's book but I thought that there were too many dark things for even a child. The books is written from the perspective of a child brought to the US from Mexico and grows up in very difficult circumstances.
Dec 22, 2009
Sybanee
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It was a good book if you don't mind a light read. I think the English version doesn't well represent Rivera's writing (his is in Spanish). The book holds stories that may change one's connotation of an illegal immigrant to something like migrant farmer.
Feb 08, 2012
Susan
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My Spanish turned out not to be good enough to really read this, partly because of Rivera's use of so much colloquial language. So I really appreciated having the bilingual version: I was able to get what I could out of the Spanish and then fill in the gaps with the English.
The work is composed of separate short vignettes, one for each month of the year, and is described in the introduction as "almost" forming a novel. The separate pieces are largely independent, but they'r More...
The work is composed of separate short vignettes, one for each month of the year, and is described in the introduction as "almost" forming a novel. The separate pieces are largely independent, but they'r More...
Mar 01, 2011
Cindy
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Some of the stories are sad, and you can feel the emotion in it, but I like how it is written. The end surprised me a lot. I did cry a little when i read "Burn Little Victims". Great book!!
May 18, 2011
Patricia
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Loved these vignettes depicting a Mexican migrant's life during the 40s and 50s. It's written in English and Spanish, but I enjoyed the Spanish ones more. Some stories just broke my heart.
Feb 09, 2010
Brittanie
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Short, almost post-modern vignettes about the life of Mexican and Hispanic migrant workers in the US during WWII. Very quick read, simply written, but so layered.
Dec 18, 2008
Long story, but I met Tomas while working on a theatrical adaptation of a children's book about his childhood. I wanted to read his work.
Aug 31, 2011
Heather
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Interesting novel in both English and Spanish. Kind of confusing at times because it is not always clear about characters and plot links.
Aug 15, 2011
Tanya
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The vignettes that make up this book are touching, funny, and heartbreaking. It is a quick read that will not quickly leave your mind.
Apr 14, 2009
this book is very good i love it i want to get married with it ♥♥♥
jesus waz here 5-6th period.... =]
jesus waz here 5-6th period.... =]
Oct 14, 2011
Gsandoval2
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Great story, very hispanic. I'm glad I"m a third generation American.
Nov 14, 2008
Sarah
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Perhaps this book meant more when it was first published and no one had heard these stories before. Perhaps it is because it is a nicer read in the Spanish.
I think it would be a great read in a high school history course, coupled with a unit on worker's rights, or the migrant farm experience, or as a precursor to the Chicano rights movements and the organizing of the UFW.
Once you get to the end and it all ties together, it's fantastic.
I think it would be a great read in a high school history course, coupled with a unit on worker's rights, or the migrant farm experience, or as a precursor to the Chicano rights movements and the organizing of the UFW.
Once you get to the end and it all ties together, it's fantastic.
Sep 19, 2008
Jose
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Jan 18, 2008
Antonio
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This guy says more in a page and a half than most people say in a whole book! It is a book about the lives of immigrants during the 40s and 50s. The story "The Children Couldn't Wait" is a haunting one page story that is really well put together. The first half of the book is in Spanish, and the second has the same stories translated into English.
Jul 10, 2011
Lori
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Bilingual version. I'm sure Evangelina Vigil-Piñón is a great person, but she her translation of this one isn't so hot. I read it first in Spanish years ago, and now I'm teaching it in a class that uses English, so I read the translation. Ugh. Spanish version: 4 stars. English version: one.
Sep 10, 2007
Lis
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I absolutely loved this short book. Some chapters are much shorter than others, sometimes you aren't even sure it is the same narrator. The chapters are each like a piece to the puzzle that is the story. It's a very short book. Just 152 pages including the English and Spanish versions, and pictures.
Nov 16, 2008
Iroquois
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A very good book, and it's split into the first part spanish, and the second half an english translaton. I really liked the descriptions of things like the photo that the family paid for of the fallen soldier,and other events in the book.Poetic w/o being cheesy or nonsensical, too.
Dec 11, 2009
Skidmarquez
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Amazing, this is a kind of fragmented Faulknerian account of the despondency and deprivation of migrant labor for Chicanos in the Southwest.
Oct 19, 2009
John
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Fourth or fifth time I've read this book, but strangely, the first time I read it entirely in English. It's a compact, dense portrait of migrant farmworkers in South Texas during the early 1950s, a classic of Mex-Am literature. Gets better with each reading.
Oct 03, 2008
Papa
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This was also for my Chicano Lit class. This book is divided into short stories that all relate to each other, but often in very non-obvious ways. It also gives insight into the struggles of Mexican-Americans and especially migrant workers.
May 29, 2008
Jill
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A very quick, but sad read. I liked the translation too. A collection of occurences in the lives of Hispanic migrant workers. The language gets unexpectedly and suddenly profane the last few chapters.
Aug 25, 2008
Shannon
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incredible writing style--short stories from different characters who are all somehow connected. Heartwrenching but very real, I think. It's about Mexican American immigrants.
