The Last Tortilla & Other Stories

by Sergio Troncoso

"She asked me if I liked them. And what could I say? They were wonderful." From the very beginning of Sergio Troncoso's celebrated story "Angie Luna," we know we are in the hands of a gifted storyteller. Born of Mexican immigrants, raised in El Paso, and now living in New York City, Troncoso has a rare knack for celebrating life. Writing in a straightforward, light-handed style reminiscent of Grace Paley and Raymond Carver, he spins charming tales that reflect his experiences in two worlds. Troncoso's El Paso is a normal town where common people who happen to be Mexican eat, sleep, fall in love, and undergo epiphanies just like everyone else. His tales are coming-of-age stories from the Mexican-American border, stories of the working class, stories of those coping with the trials of growing old in a rapidly changing society. He also explores New York with vignettes of life in the big city, capturing its loneliness and danger. Beginning with Troncoso's widely acclaimed story "Angie Luna," the tale of a feverish love affair in which a young man rediscovers his Mexican heritage and learns how much love can hurt, these stories delve into the many dimensions of the human condition. We watch boys playing a game that begins innocently but takes a dangerous turn. We see an old Anglo woman befriending her Mexican gardener because both are lonely. We witness a man terrorized in his New York apartment, taking solace in memories of lost love. Two new stories will be welcomed by Troncoso's readers. "My Life in the City" relates a transplanted Texan's yearning for companionship in New York, while "The Last Tortilla" returns to the Southwest to explore family strains after a mother's death--and the secret behind that death. Each reflects an insight about the human heart that has already established the author's work in literary circles. Troncoso sets aside the polemics about social discomfort sometimes found in contemporary Chicano writing and focuses instead on the moral and intellectual lives of his characters. The twelve stories gathered here form a richly textured tapestry that adds to our understanding of what it is to be human.

Genres: Short Stories

220 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

Sergio Troncoso is the author of Nobody's Pilgrims, A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant's Son, The Last Tortilla and Other Stories, Crossing Borders: Personal Essays, The Nature of Truth and From This Wicked Patch of Dust; and as editor, Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families in between Worlds and Our Lost Border: Essays on Life amid the Narco-Violence.

He often writes about the United States-Mexico border, working-class immigrants, families and fatherhood, crossing cultural, psychological, and philosophical borders, and the border beyond the border.

Troncoso teaches at the Yale Writers’ Workshop in New Haven, Connecticut. A past president of the Texas Institute of Letters, he has also served as a judge for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the New Letters Literary Awards in the Essay category. His work has appeared in Pleiades, Texas Highways, CNN Opinion, Houston Chronicle, Other Voices, New Letters, Yale Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Texas Monthly.

The son of Mexican immigrants, Troncoso was born and grew up on the east side of El Paso, Texas in rural Ysleta. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and received two graduate degrees in international relations and philosophy from Yale University.

A Fulbright scholar, Troncoso was inducted into the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Alumni Hall of Fame, Texas Institute of Letters, and Texas Literary Hall of Fame. He was named a Fellow of the Texas Institute of Letters, the first Mexican American writer to receive this distinction.

Among the numerous literary awards Troncoso has won are the Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story, Premio Aztlan Literary Prize, Gold Medal for Best Novel-Adventure or Drama from International Latino Book Awards, Bronze Award for Anthologies from Independent Publisher Book Awards, Gold Medal for Best Collection of Short Stories from International Latino Book Awards, Southwest Book Award, Bronze Award for Essays from ForeWord Reviews, and the Silver Award for Multicultural Adult Fiction from ForeWord Reviews.

The El Paso City Council voted unanimously to rename the public library branch in Ysleta as the Sergio Troncoso Branch Library.

His literary papers are archived at The Wittliff Collections in San Marcos, Texas.

Nobody's Pilgrims
"Eloquent, bold, and terrifying."
-Elizabeth Crook, author of The Which Way Tree
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Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families in between Worlds:
"A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity."
-Kirkus Reviews, starred review
---------
A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant's Son:
“It's his most powerful work yet, and an essential addition to the Latinx canon."
-The Texas Observer
---------
From This Wicked Patch of Dust:
“Troncoso’s novel is an engaging literary achievement.”
-Kirkus Reviews, starred review
----------
Crossing Borders: Personal Essays:
“We owe it to ourselves to read, savor and read them again.”
-The El Paso Times
----------
The Nature of Truth:
“Impressively lucid.”
-The Chicago Tribune
----------
The Last Tortilla and Other Stories:
“Enthusiastically recommended.”
-Booklist
----------
Our Lost Border: Essays on Life amid the Narco-Violence
“An eye-opening collection of essays.”
-Publishers Weekly

Reviews

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the introduction to the collection of short stories, Ilan Stavans comments about Troncoso – “He makes art out of ordinariness.” I couldn’t say it better.

In the title story, siblings struggle to celebrate a traditional Christmas following the death of their mother, and their father’s remarriage to a woman the children do not like. Angie Luna tells the story of a college student home for the holidays who falls for an “older” woman who lives across the border in Juarez. In Punching Chickens a teenage boy recounts his first job. In another story, a chubby boy struggles with teasing by schoolmates and dreams of getting a 10-speed bike. An elderly couple struggle to dispel each other’s demons and fears of impending death in The Abuelita. My favorite story is probably The Gardener, wherein an elderly widow tricks her equally aged gardener into accepting her invitation to share her home.

Troncoso gives us stories of Mexican-American life along the US / Mexico border, but also stories that will speak to all of us. He covers universal themes of love, death, coming-of-age and family life, but also touches on the clash between Mexicans living in America vs those still in Mexico, and the difficulty faced by young Latinos who don’t speak Spanish but don’t feel they fit into the American mainstream either. A couple of these stories were very hard to read because of their difficult subject matter (home invasion, violence among children), a couple left me dissatisfied with what I felt was an abrupt ending. A few of these stories were truly wonderful. The star rating reflects an average across the collection.

[Sonja Hennessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sergio's first book is a collection of gritty short stories which leave the reader with sense of bitterness or bewildered satisfaction. All of the stories are told from the POV of Mexican-Americans dealing with questions of meaning in life, "success", absurdism, trials and tribulations and poverty of their communities. The stories also incorporate existentialist themes of what is means to be a human. That there is not a fixed characteristic of the characters in his stories or a single "essence" or Mexicans from El Paso. In one of the short stories, "Espirtu Santu", an elderly couple discuss spirituality in the old woman's house. On their way to the senior center, young "cholos" jump them and take their belongings. Themes of vulnerability both physically to young men and then having their faith challenged. In the "Last Tortilla", family members try to assert their individual identities under the strain of having an outsider-a step-mother-take the place of their late biological mother.

Overall, the book was easy to read, but each story has a deeper message about the souls of the characters that warrants a closer inspection. Questions of how to live morally/ethically, problems that are beyond our control to solve, regret, vulnerability are surely what all humans struggle with beneath the surface.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My general review: I enjoyed reading this book. This book, however, made me realize that reading a book of short stories is tedious for me, since you have to pick up with new characters and new "plots" with each story.

The overall tone of the stories in this book is melancholic. The stories focus on what happens in the lives of people every day: no extreme, unrealistic scenarios. It also gives a glimpse into parts of the Hispanic culture, especially that of the importance of family. Mr. Troncoso writes about El Paso and Juarez, and specifically names streets, businesses and areas here. Living in El Paso, I can relate to these places, which I think made the book more enjoyable for me.

I felt that each story left an open ending, which could be carried into a longer story, or perhaps even a novel for some. The stories definitely leave room for discussion about the possibilities of what could happen next. I look forward to reading one of Mr. Troncoso's novels next.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of the short story once again. In so few words the author brings great depth to the daily life of his characters and twists my gut by the end of the story. If you haven't been there Troncosco takes you there even if you didn't want to go. He makes you feel. I took a break from this book because the overall tone is despondency. However, this author could change a thousand lives if he were to make the ordinary a celebration!*

I'm still thinking. This is a book that makes you feel and think. This is a book that perhaps would provide perspective for those that do not think kindly of immigrants.

*What I mean is not that Troncosco should change his style but, if his writing has such power, can he bring us to feel the joy that the Creator intended? Interesting.

[Book-reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to read this again before I can do it justice (it's been a while), but I was surprised to discover I didn't rate the book that started one of the greatest modern literary careers. More to come -

[Emily Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Chicano lit!

[Melita Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second time reading Sergio Troncoso's wonderful book.
It definitely gave me a view of an"other" slice of American life.

[olga loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuine

Truly genuine. I grew up in Las cruces, NM. Mother's family from El Paso. Will reread again. Look forward to finding other books by Mr. Troncoso.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This remarkable collection shines a light on the colorful personalities and relationships of individuals and families of the Texas borderlands. An important and compelling window into the rich culture of the Mexican-American community. I keep returning to re-read favorite stories from this well-loved collection.

[Kevin Roones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the short stories, but sometimes the occasional dialog in Spanish was hard to follow. It's been a long time since my three years of high school Spanish. LOL

[Laura Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerfully written collection of short stories that touch on everyday life of Mexican-Americans living mainly in El Paso, but also in large cities such as Chicago and New York. Beautiful and poignant, they explore all the human emotions against an every day setting. Simply wonderful.

[Maria]

Interesting collection. As with all short story collections there are some I liked more than others. Entertaining all in all.