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Mile Zero
"Mile zero" marks the location of Key West -- the island that defines the end of the American road, the cultural junction where Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Afro worlds collide. On this island, with its cruel legacy of slave trade and Latin revolution, and its turbulent present of marijuana millionaires, threadbare illegal immigrants, and hard-luck treasure hunters, lives St. C...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
October 3rd 1990
by Vintage
(first published 1989)
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This is my review for the San Francisco Chronicle in October 1989:
Thomas Sanchez writes with such grace and power that he can be forgiven for the sometimes blatant shortcomings that bog down this often brilliant book.
''Mile Zero,'' Sanchez's third novel, is often bewildering, but it delivers enough nourishment to make it good _ even memorable. It's a scattered tale of strange events in the lives of an offbeat collection of people in Key West.
Sanchez, whose first novel, ''Rabbit Boss,'' was an im...more
Thomas Sanchez writes with such grace and power that he can be forgiven for the sometimes blatant shortcomings that bog down this often brilliant book.
''Mile Zero,'' Sanchez's third novel, is often bewildering, but it delivers enough nourishment to make it good _ even memorable. It's a scattered tale of strange events in the lives of an offbeat collection of people in Key West.
Sanchez, whose first novel, ''Rabbit Boss,'' was an im...more
A solid 3.5 this novel was woven well with beautiful language and riveting metaphors in a style reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy or Mario Vargas Llosa. Probably could have used a little more straight dialogue for the present moment situations, but the past storytelling flowed with such passion that it put you in the moment when Justo recalled his ancestors or St Cloud related Lila's failed marriage. Zobop's chapters were obviously difficult but kept the mystery going.
I started this book the last t...more
I started this book the last t...more
One of my all time faves in part because it's so over-the-top. Sanchez is an interesting writer who's had a varied career but has never really gotten much attention. This was supposed to be his breakthrough book; VANITY FAIR even did a profile of him in 89 to promote the book. Alas, it wasn't that successful, although it's certainly TS's best-known. While people tend to consider Tom McGuane's NINETY-TWO IN THE SHADE the "quintessential" Key West novel, I'd put my money on this baby. Like the isl...more
Along with 'American Gods' this book is one of my "envy" books- works that I wish I would have written. One of my favorite openings of all time:
"It is about water..."
From that moment the work just keeps on rolling until the end. One of the few I have read twice. Amazing.
"It is about water..."
From that moment the work just keeps on rolling until the end. One of the few I have read twice. Amazing.
I enjoyed the character development as well as the history that Sanchez describes in the story. Before I moved to Florida in 2010, I had a much different notion about the Keys and of Florida in general. That is until I had a chance to experience some of the culture (and sub culture) that seems to "back up" northward from Key West up along US 1. My experience reading MIle Zero is that I was, at times lulled, delighted, and enticed while other times I was repulsed and ready to fly far away as quic...more
Water, rum, barroom brawls, voodoo, pug puppies, crusty fringe characters... I had high hopes for this novel. Why didn't I love it? Something about the tone is off key (sorry, no pun intended) There is a kind of forced, overstated tinge to much of the prose of this novel; a pity and a sacrilege because some of the passages, as well as the general premise, are excellent. Too many didactic backstories, a tad too many overwritten metaphors, and especially, a wavering, undecided tone, somewhere betw...more
A dazzling book painted on a large canvas. A great novel about America located on the edge of American society in Key West, Florida.
A neglected modern classic.
A neglected modern classic.
A great book by a local author about a favorite hangout of mine. Nice detective story with a twist.
Pretentious. Wannabe poet, but poetry don't pay is the author's obvious bio. False symbolism and disorganized plot make this an irritating read. I could find some good quotes, but it fails as a complete work. It would probably fit in the magic realism category and it may be I just wasn't in the mood for it. Go for, Carlos Ruiz Zafón or Borges before tackling a weaker work like this one.
An interesting story about Key West.
May 17, 2013
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Dec 17, 2007 03:25pm