The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz
THE BORDER BETWEEN US
By Rudy Ruiz
Literary Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Pages: 256
Publication Date: August 27, 2024
SYNOPSIS
TheBorder Between Us is a poignant coming-of-age novel from one ofthe most exciting voices in fiction.
RamónLópez was born along the US–Mexico border but is determined to get out andembrace the American dream—and he’s not sure whether his complicated family isa help or a hindrance. As the son of immigrants, as Ramón grows, his admirationfor his entrepreneurial father sours as he watches his dad’s dreams of successwither on the vine. Ramón’s mother is constantly preoccupied with his youngerbrother, who struggles with intellectual disabilities. And the outside world isrife with danger and temptations threatening to distract Ramón from his dreamsof making it to New York and succeeding as an artist.
Asdreams clash with reality and values conflict with desires, Ramón finds theAmerican dream within his reach—but will it demand too big a sacrifice?
Award-winningauthor Rudy Ruiz brilliantly captures the beauty and danger of border life asRamón struggles to understand his home and his place in the world. The BorderBetween Us is a stunning, compassionate story about a son’s fraughtrelationship with his father, the challenges of pursuing a creative life whenone comes from humble beginnings, and the power of embracing one's whole self.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rudy Ruiz is the author of The Resurrectionof Fulgencio Ramirez and Valley ofShadows. He is a winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book ofFiction, the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction, and multiple International LatinoBook Awards. A bilingual native of the US–Mexico border, he earned hisbachelor’s and master’s degrees at Harvard University. Rudy lives and writes inTexas and New England with his wife and children. Visit his website atRudyRuiz.com.
REVIEW
When I picked up this shortnovel, set on the Texas-Mexican border, I thought the ‘border’ in the title wasjust that, the Rio Grande River. But there is more than one kind of border thatseparates people from one another.
Ramón López is a high school kidwho lives with his grandmother in Texas. His parents, his hardworking motherand his father, with several failed businesses, live in Mexico. Ramon also hasa younger brother who suffers from physical and intellectual disabilities. Whilein high school, he is befriended by a senior named Julia and her slackerboyfriend Reeser. His time with Julia opens a different world to him, a worldpowered by the drug trade.
After a tragic accident, Ramónfocuses on his art and is awarded a scholarship to a prestigious NY college. Heleaves the border for the city. There he meets another wealthy girl, Clara,whose opulent lifestyle is funded by her wealthy father. The stark differencesin their lived experiences reveals a different sort of border. What should havebeen Ramón’s ticket to a new life instead robs him of what he holds most dear.
For Ramón, borders are not justgeographic. There’s the border between the rich and the poor. The gulf betweena father and the son who doesn’t understand him. There’s the border betweenwhat is right and what is wrong and what happens if you cross it.
I really enjoyed this story oflife in Southernmost Texas. The close-knit family, divided by the river, bychanging values and the choices they make. I thought the story was beautifullywritten with evocative descriptions the tightknit Hispanic community and thechallenges of growing up torn between what you have and what you think youwant.
I highly recommend thisthoughtful book.
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