Gritos: Essays [Paperback]

Dagoberto Gilb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2004

When he first started writing, Dagoberto Gilb was struggling to survive as a journeyman high-rise carpenter. Years later, he has won widespread acclaim as a crucial and compelling voice in contemporary American letters. Tackling everything from cockfighting to Cormac McCarthy, Gritos collects Gilb's essays and his popular commentaries for NPR's Fresh Air, offering a startling portrait of an artist-and a Mexican-American- working to find his place in both the cloistered literary world and the world at large, to say nothing of his strange and beloved borderland of Texas.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As a magnetic short story writer, Gilb, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, becomes his compelling characters. As an arresting essayist, he is unabashedly himself, and his zest for life, passion for illuminating Mexican American culture, and seductive storytelling skills infuse his astute observations, reminiscences, and critiques with compelling energy and momentum. Here are candid and nimble ruminations on growing up pocho, that is, Americanized, in L.A. as a mixed-race son raised by a beautiful, divorced, and much sought after Mexican mother. Here is Gilb working as a carpenter and watching the INS round up his fellow crew members; considering a gig writing for a TV crime series set in El Paso; praising Steinbeck; caring for his family; and watering the lawn outside his rented El Paso house because his convention-bound landlady refuses to acknowledge the absurdity of grass in the desert. It is, in fact, this very blindness to the true nature and significance of the land, people, Spanish legacy, and Mexican spirit of the Southwest that goads Gilb into writing his potent and clarifying essays. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Distinguished by honesty . . . bittersweet optimism,and plain good writing, these pages offer . . . much to admire." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Gilb is able to illustrate life’s transforming moments with a delicate appreciation of their power and evanescence." -- The Washington Post (Praise for The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña)

"Gilb knows the dirty secrets of man stuck in emotional exile. And he knows, too, the tools of revelation." -- Men’s Journal (Praise for Woodcuts of Women) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802141277
• ISBN-13: 978-0802141279
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #899,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dagoberto Gilb was born and raised in Los Angeles and lived as many years in El Paso. He now lives in Austin. Gilb's books have won the PEN/Hemingway Award and have been finalists for the PEN Faulkner and National Book Critics Circle Award. He edited Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas Mexican Literature, the canonical volume of Texas Mexican literature, which won the Southwest Book Award for nonfiction. Anthologized widely, recipient of awards including a Guggenheim and Whiting, his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in a range of magazines including Harper's, The New Yorker, and The Threepenny Review. Gilb spent most of his adult years as a construction worker and a journeyman, high-rise carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Writer-in-residence at the University of Houston-Victoria, he is also the executive director of Centro Victoria: Center for Mexican American Literature and Culture.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shouts of Praise, November 4, 2004

By 

Deziree (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gritos (Hardcover)

This book makes visible what is invisible to so many. Dagoberto Gilb uses the deeply personal to create vivid memories for the reader. His writing shouts and sings with humor, beauty, sadness and pleasure.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Shouts for Raza, July 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Gritos (Hardcover)

I'm not sure what the last reviewer read, but I read "Gritos" b/c I have read rave reviews. As a Mexican-American, I was naturally excited to read the book. I was so not disappoinnted!! What was most impressive was how I couldn't put the book down. I didn't find a weak story in it, and I'd say all of them were brave and honest. I definately did not read anything poorly written or complaining about discrimination--that is a ridiculous charge! This is a brilliant book by a great writer and is a must read, especially if you are from the Southwest..

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny and smart, April 25, 2004

By 

andy mann (little rock, arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gritos (Hardcover)

gilb read yesterday here at the arkansas literary festival and was the best speaker I heard. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed his talk and lecture. I came to this page to buy his essay book bc the festival forgot to order it! what we heard him read was a such treat and he was utterly entertaining. the women I was with were talking about the man's movie star looks and charm but I say put try to put that aside. the man and his writing are beyond a doubt talented.