Nickel and Dime

by Gary Soto

"I'm outta here! I got a future!" crows Roberto Silva when he is down-sized out of his job as a security guard at a bank in Oakland. But Roberto's future isn't the one he was looking forward to. This is the 1990s, and upward mobility in the city requires resources that Roberto is short of. Before he knows it, he is living in an abandoned quonset hut and then on the street, where he crosses paths with poet Silver Mendez, a survivor of the 1960s whose luck has run out, and Gus Hernandez, a compadre from his days at the bank. The ups and downs of the lives of men who are always looking for a way to earn a cup of coffee with plenty of sugar and cream, their desperate ingenuity, their hunger, their dauntless optimism have never been brought to life as vividly as in this sweet, sad, funny trio of interlocking stories by one of America's most original writers. "An utterly distinct literary experience. No one writes like Gary Soto. Rather than falling into the trap of politicizing his subjects�blaming Anglos, blaming the church, blaming anyone at all�he simply presents the lives of these three men with emphasis on the minute details, the micro-decisions, the often-perverse impulses that actually comprise so much of human existence. By doing so, he achieves universality."--Gerald Haslam

Genres: Fiction

197 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Gary Soto is the author of eleven poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly, Poetry International, and Poetry, which has honored him with the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award and by featuring him in the interview series Poets in Person. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. For ITVS, he produced the film “The Pool Party,” which received the 1993 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence. In 1997, because of his advocacy for reading, he was featured as NBC’s Person-of-the-Week. In 1999, he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and his hometown of Fresno.

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This somewhat short book contains three related stories. They take place in Oakland, California in the 1990s.

The first story: We Ain't Asking Much the main character is Roberto Silva, happy to have been let go at Walnut Bank as a security guard. His job was replaced by a security camera. Soon enough though, Roberto finds himself out of money and homeless, trying to sell something in order to eat.

The second story called Literary Life has Silver Mendez as the main character. A poet past his prime and happy to have this reading a small college in central California. Once home he finds his stuff on the lawn and kicked out of his apartment. Mendez at least has a car for shelter and ends up befriending Roberto who’s been homeless for two years now.

In the last story called The Untimely Passing of the Clock Radio we return to Walnut Bank as the other security guard, Gustavo Hernandez, is about to retire. Despite working for the bank for years he doesn’t have much savings. Roberto appears in this story as well, five years after his parting with the bank, and now asking Gus for help.

These are not joyful stories, looking at Hispanic men as they become homeless, or very poor despite loyally working for a company for years. What I didn’t like his how the three men are portrayed as simple, not very intelligent. And yet, there is a wee bit of humor laced into these stories as well.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story. The author weaves together the lives of 3 men and brings out their characters. He manages to provide a somewhat happy ending despite the adversities that befall the men. He shows that each man has talents and skills that are valuable in society.

[Kevin Pilgrim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why is the Latino experience written so badly?

[Kelly McCloskey-Romero · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admire this book. Soto weaves the tales of Roberto, Gustavo, and Silver, three Mexican men who are all struggling to work, to eat, to live. His descriptions are spot on, and I felt transported to the lives of these men. Ultimately, though, the lives of these men were pretty hopeless and depressing. That took away from the enjoyment of the book, if not from the appreciation of it.

[Diana Welsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gary Soto is a poet.

I've never read any of his poetry, and I'm not that interested in poetry, but he writes prose like the best poet that ever existed.

I've read other books and short stories that describe mundane things. Those books can be boring. But Gary Soto, the poet, packs meaning and beauty into every detail of this book. He can (and does) descibe a dog taking a dump and makes it important and meaningful.

This book is about poverty. It's about what happens when a non-homeless person becomes homeless. What do you spend your last $100 on when you have no way to get more money? What about your last $5? It's really quite fascinating.

A+++ would read again.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story follows three characters whose lives intersect in the Fruitvale section of Oakland throughout the late 80's and early 90's. Soto captures so much detail about life on the streets for these men living on the edge of society -- two are bank guards when the book opens, and the other a down on his luck poet. I really felt like I was going back in time, even though it wasn't that long ago. Soto draws out the difficult lives of these characters with quiet humor, and seems to get totally into their heads in a way that makes them seem real.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I read this, I was struck by a similarity in style to John Fante's short stories, a quality I call "hospitality." Reading it the second time it seemed over-written somehow, but was still a good read. Soto is a creative writing teacher, his writing's almost or not quite too self-aware. It's writing you can learn from.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

When life throws these guys a bone, at least there's humor. This was an amazingly good read on some difficult situations in life.

[Loulou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, a fantastic book, lovely and gritty, one of my favorites. I must read it again; it's been 10 years or more now. So I will do that and write a review.

[Lorraine Wille]

excellent view of many

[Mills College Library]

Fiction S718n 2000