Selena

by Ernest Brawley

Spanning a quarter century, from the early 1950s to the 1970s, and set against the social and political turmoil of that watershed era, SELENA traces the interlocking destinies of a haunting young Mexican-American woman, driven by a mystical belief in her uniqueness, and two desperate men who have been lifelong rivals.

Selena Cruz: From early childhood, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to her in a vision, Selena has been certain she's fated for special accomplishments. Although her Chicano family labors in the tomato fields and the packing house of the great Vanducci empire, Selena dreams of marrying into the landed gentry. When the fantasy shatters in her face, Selena goes on to become a spellbinding labor organizer, steeped in the mythology of her ancestors and determined to bring the parvenu landowners--especially the Vanduccis--to their knees.

Jay Jay Vanducci: Heir to the wealth and power amassed by his mean-spirited grandfather, Jay Jay struggles--out of his impossible love for Selena--against the claims of caste and clan. His ultimate decision and the brutal scheming of his father ignite a chain of violent acts that explode into an all-out class war.

Delano Range: Half-breed, ex-convict, born survivor, and foster brother of Jay Jay, Del's life is a series of confused loyalties and reluctant treacheries, further complicated by his obsession with Selena and by the knowledge that the Vanducci land was initially settled by his own great-grand-father.

Genres: Fiction

315 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Ernest Brawley is a native Californian. His father was a prison guard, and he was raised on the grounds of several penitentiaries. He worked his way through college as a forklift driver at a tomato packing shed, a switchman on the Southern Pacific Railroad, and as a guard at San Quentin Prison, where he saw duty in the Gun Towers, the Big Yard and Death Row. He attended San Francisco State University, where he received a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. After college, he spent several years traveling the world. Since then, he has spent his life writing novels, teaching, and continuing to travel. He has taught at the University of Hawaii, Hunter College, New York University and the Pantheon-Sorbonne. He is a recipient of the Joseph Henry Jackson Award in Literature and served for several years on the Fiction Award Committee of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington. At present he resides on the island of Mauritius. Brawley has published four novels, THE RAP, SELENA, THE ALAMO TREE, and LOVE HAS NO COUNTRY. THE RAP and SELENA were recently republished. His latest novel, BLOOD MOON, will be coming out soon.

Reviews

[Rajib Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selena begins with a short classic line—“ Everything starts with little girls” and with a curious scene of a little girl carrying a fighting cock in her arms. Who was this girl?
Ernest Brawley takes us on a whirlwind tour to the 1950s San Joaquin Valley, to the vast fields of alfalfa, tomatoes and sugar beets, irrigation canals and county roads, the landscape crawling with trucks, tractors, cars and freight trains and the skyline punctuated with the smokestacks of fertilizer factories, cement plants, canneries and sugar mills. Anyone who grew up in this great valley would lap up the sights and scenes and anyone who loves a little Spanish in between the pages is sure to be thrilled by the crisp exchanges between the bombshell protagonist, Selena, and a huge and hungry Mexican who came in a rusted Cheeby sedan. Selena has a scheming mind and a big heart. This girl whose mother was unwed and whose father got killed in the ranch where he labored, she got friendly with this total stranger and took him to her poor unpainted wooden home in Calmento, California and where she gave him their simple home grub. And then the story between them starts in an easy pace.
Selena had her dreams that she was destined to accomplish big things even as her Chicano family labors in the tomato fields under the blazing sun. And two desperate men were obsessed by this Mexican-American beauty who desired a change in everything she sees. But alas, it is easier thought than done. And that’s where the beauty of this story lies. This is what makes it a very believable book.
Ernest Brawley has a flair for details, racy dialogues, somber scenes and intricate plots. Though the story seems to lag at times as like all great novels, Selena is to be read till the last word and to be hoarded well from the dust and rain. The dialogues will particularly be remembered.
“Muchacha, you jus’ don’t know you own min’!”
“Hey, chavalita! Where you get that rooster?”

[Sylvia · Rating 1 out of 5]

the book was totally depressing and terrible for me to read.there was absolutely nothing to look forward to in the end.

[Jenelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and empowering