{"product_id":"retablos-stories-from-a-life-lived-along-the-border-9780872867864","title":"Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRecommended by the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e and NBC News, and called one of the Best Books of the Year by Buzzfeed \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e directs readers to \u003cem\u003eRetablos \u003c\/em\u003eif you want to know \"what's life really like on the Mexican border.\" \u003c\/strong\u003e\"Solis grew up just a mile from the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, and he tells stories about his childhood and coming of age, including his parents migration to the United States from Mexico, his first encounter with racism and finding a Mexican migrant girl hiding in the cotton fields.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eConcepci n de Le n, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeminal moments, rites of passage, crystalline vignettes--a memoir about growing up brown at the U.S.\/Mexico border.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMore praise for Octavio Solis's \u003cem\u003eRetablos\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"This is American \u003cem\u003eand \u003c\/em\u003eMexican literature a stone's throw from the always hustling El Paso border.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eGary Soto\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Elements\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eof San Joaquin \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"We inhabit a border world rich in characters, lush with details, playful and poignant, a border that refutes the stereotypes and divisions smaller minds create. Solis reminds us that sometimes the most profound truths are best told with crafted fictions--and he is a master at it.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eJulia Alvarez\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eHow the Garc a Girls Lost Their Accents\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\" ... it's hard not to consider the border itself as a representation of a 'terrible rift, ' a split between homes, communities, identities, generations. While reading this generous and eye-opening account, it's easy to see how, for the country at large, the rift has only deepened.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eArianna Rebolini, Buzzfeed Best Books of Fall 2018\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Landing somewhere between Neil Gaiman and Juan Rulfo, Solis secularizes the mythological by turning men and women into saintly figures--like their criada  maid], Consuelo, and a white priest who shows his family empathy--and monsters: border agents who take his friends away and school bullies.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Adam Carroll, \u003cem\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"There has never been a border book like \u003cem\u003eRetablos\u003c\/em\u003e, a collection of smoldering epiphanies suffering the baptizing waters of recall. . . .\"--\u003cstrong\u003eRoberto Ontiveros, \u003cem\u003eSan Antonio Current\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The book is rendered in tight, stand-alone recollections rich with poetry and honesty. . . . If retablos are offerings, then Solis' book is a gift of memory, not always pleasant, but always true.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eBeatriz Terrazas, Dallas Morning News\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The experience of reading his tightly contained memories in succession is a bit like drawing old coins up from a wishing well. Filtered through veils of distance and time, these scenes and reflections are wonderful and weird flashes of childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in the life of this particular Mexican American boy.\"-- \u003cstrong\u003eSophie Haigney, \u003cem\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Octavio Solis' \u003cem\u003eRetablos\u003c\/em\u003e recounts a 'beautiful, messy' youth on the border. Though its title evokes Mexican folk art, Retablos is closer in effect to that of French pointillism. Its small dabs of vivid color produce a brilliant cumulative effect.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eSteven G. Kellman, \u003cem\u003eThe Texas Observer\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"In this debut memoir, playwright Solis delivers top-notch vignettes of his youth with riveting imagery and empathy, recounting--and embellishing, he says--memories of growing up brown in El Paso, Tex. . . . These brilliantly told stories of missteps and redemption are a treat.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\". . .what struck me most about each chapter was Solis's ability to plant a specific image in your mind. With every retablo, you can see in ferocious detail exactly what the author wants you to see, like a special kind of telepathy. I found myself wanting to paint them\u003cstrong\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e--Caitlyn Reynolds, \u003cem\u003eThe Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"In all, a beautiful, evocative, and timely expression of border culture for every collection.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Sara Martinez, \u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"In this coming-of-age memoir, a playwright illuminates the culture of the El Paso border as he perceived it when he was young. . . . An intriguing work that transcends category, drawing from facts but reading like fiction\u003cstrong\u003e.\"--\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e City Lights Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/23\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780872867864\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/19\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2018 pg. 10\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/26\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/05\/2018\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Octavio Solis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36645487280284,"sku":"9780872867864","price":13.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_d7235ee6-0416-4596-a64b-41222be9ccf1.jpg?v=1603861233","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/retablos-stories-from-a-life-lived-along-the-border-9780872867864","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}