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Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez [Paperback]

Richard Rodriguez
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 3, 2004
Hunger of Memory is the story of Mexican-American Richard Rodriguez, who begins his schooling in Sacramento, California, knowing just 50 words of English, and concludes his university studies in the stately quiet of the reading room of the British Museum.

Here is the poignant journey of a “minority student” who pays the cost of his social assimilation and academic success with a painful alienation — from his past, his parents, his culture — and so describes the high price of “making it” in middle-class America.

Provocative in its positions on affirmative action and bilingual education, Hunger of Memory is a powerful political statement, a profound study of the importance of language ... and the moving, intimate portrait of a boy struggling to become a man.


From the Paperback edition.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Arresting ... Splendidly written intellectual autobiography.”—Boston Globe

“Superb autobiographical essay ... Mr. Rodriguez offers himself as an example of the long labor of change: its costs, about which he is movingly frank, its loneliness, but also its triumph.”—New York Times Book Review


From the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Hunger Of Memory is the story of a Mexican-American Richard Rodriguez, who begins his schooling in Sacramento, California, knowing just 50 words of English and concludes his university studies in the stately quiet of the reading room of the British Museum.

Here is the poignant journey is a "minority student" who pays the cost of his social assimilation and academic success with a painful alienation -- from his past, his parents, his culture -- and so describes the high price of "making it" in middle class America.

Provocative in its positions on affirmative action and bilingual education, Hunger Of Memory is a powerful political statement, a profound study of the importance of language... and the moving, intimate portrait of a boy struggling to become a man.

"Arresting...Splendidly written intellectual autobiography." -- Boston Globe

"Superb autobiographical essay... Mr. Rodriguez offers himself as an example if the long labor of change: its costs, about which he is movingly frank, its loneliness, but also its triumph." -- The New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; First Paperback Printing edition (February 3, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0553382519
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553382518
  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

At one point in his book he admits he never liked writing when he was in school. From_Plano_TX  |  9 reviewers made a similar statement
I liked how Rodriguez corelates language with intimacy. Ron S. Potts  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 77 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In this autobiographical work, the author attempts to put forth his views on a number of topics within a personal context. He does this within the framework of his being Mexican-American. His parsing of the effect that education had on his life is both interesting and food for thought. While education provided a means of connecting to the world outside his cultural enclave, it also created a distance between him and his cultural roots. As he assimilated into the larger world outside his immediate cultural milieu, it created a divide between him and his parents. As they remained in their self-contained, unassimilated world, only their mutual love for each other was able to bridge the chasm that education created, for figuratively they no longer spoke the same language.

Likewise, the impact and influence that his early Catholic parochial school experience had on him resonated with me, as I myself was a product of such schooling. His reminiscences brought back many memories for me, most of them positive ones, despite some of the obvious pitfalls inherent in that sometimes narrow, parochial education framework that often favored rote learning over intellectual or critical thinking. Indeed, his love of reading, as is mine, emanated from that early educational experience, which greatly emphasized reading. The impact and influence that Catholicism had on him had are fertile grounds for discussion in the context of liturgical reform and its effects upon community. As a Catholic having lived through the reforms initiated by Vatican II, I understand and appreciate his analysis on the demystification of the liturgy and the loss of the mystical in its transition from Latin into a vernacular language in its celebration of the concept of community. These reflections are intermingled with his thoughts on the Catholicism that he was taught in school by the nuns, a Catholicism that was influenced by the "bleak melancholic strain" that runs through Irish Catholicism. Having been taught by Irish nuns as a child, this, too, resonated with me. I also remember well those lessons taught through the strict use of the Baltimore Catechism, a fairly dogmatic and rote approach to Catholicism that is, for the most part, no longer employed.

The author's personal educational experiences and reflections have caused him to formulate certain views on bi-lingual education and affirmative action. His views on these issues are the very same views that I hold. Being a Cuban-American, I relate to many of his experiences as a Mexican-American, and his careful analysis of these issues hits home in many ways. Integrated into his analysis is a certain amount of irony. I agree that, oftentimes, a minority who has succeeded academically and professionally is often marginalized by society, relegated to speaking for all minorities, as if one size fits all. Missing from the equation, now a parody of social reform, is the fundamental issue of class. It is an issue that is largely unaddressed n in these programs of social reform. For those who claim that the author was the beneficiary of affirmative action, it should be noted that the author would have been able to get into Stanford, where he went to college, on his own merits, as he was certainly not educationally disadvantaged. Moreover, as a scholar who desired the intellectual stimulation of academic life, he chose to give it up as a form of protest against affirmative action. Instead, he became a noted essayist and social critic.

What is also of interest in this book is what is missing. As I read the book, the sense of estrangement from his family was palpable, as was his loneliness and the lack of any mention of social congress. His was, indeed, a solitary existence, as if the author were not yet in touch with a part of himself that he had sublimated. His sexual identity is a totally blank slate within the pages of this book, as if a portion of himself had been excised. Where it is indirectly alluded, it is ambiguous, at best, referred to as sexual anxieties. At Stanford, he notes, however, that he began to have something of a "conventional" sex life". This, I felt was a curious use of the adjectival and more meaningful within the context of what is not discussed. His mother called him, "Mr. Secrets", ostensibly because he told her little about his work in San Francisco. As a mother, I suspect it is probably because she already knew at some level what the author was reluctant to reveal at the time, even to himself. Later on, the author made a declaration that was probably already subliminally known to his family. As did his educational advancement, this secret may have also contributed to his feeling of estrangement from his family and his culture. After all, in the world of machismo, the concept of homosexuality is one that many traditional Latino families still have difficulty accepting. It took the author many years to come to grips with his sexual orientation. It was only years later that he publicly acknowledged what is evident to the discerning reader of this book.

While the author has a voice that should be heard, his style of writing is often pedantic and somewhat strained. The construction can be quite awkward and stilted, as if the author were stylistically distancing himself from his own life. So, while I find his critical analysis of certain issues to be on point and often brilliant, the style in which he conveys his thoughts, at times, acts as a distraction and an irritant. Still, for those readers who can look past some of the stylistic bombast, they will find a wellspring of insightful, critical analysis of social issues.
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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and deeply moving. October 23, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Vance Packard, in researching his book "The Status Seekers," found that upward mobility in the United States was much more difficult than Americans would like to believe, and that those who were successful made it largely by cutting ties to their roots. Although framed in the context of ethnicity--Richard Rodriguez' book makes that same point. Moving up from working class to upper middle class promised success and acceptance and self-respect, but getting there was a little like edging out onto the ice, feeling inadequate and fearful that at any moment he might fall through. This book will resonate with anyone--immigrant or not, minority or not--who has made such a journey. Rodriguez scathingly criticizes affirmative action and bi-lingual education programs, correctly identifying the first as promoting socially crippling labels--"disadvantaged minority"--and the second as an obstacle to what he sees as the keys to success in America--a solid education and learning to speak and write English well. Rodriguez discovers early on what many of those with romantic notions about their ethnic or racial heritage eventually come to realize--that he is an American. But in the sadness he feels at the growing distance between himself and his parents, he fails--and several previous reviewers of this book fail--to note one very important thing. Upward mobility occurs incrementally, not in one leap. Rodriguez was put in a position to get that excellent education, to learn to speak unaccented English, and to become a respected author and scholar by parents who left Mexico and the little homogeneous Catholic towns and moved to the United States. In short, by parents who had cut the ties to their own roots.
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43 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Still Controversial--After All These Years September 19, 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I'm an author of a mystery novel in current release that features a Stanford-educated detective of Latino heritage as its protagonist, an American government/economics teacher (for over twenty years) in a rural California high school with a student population that is over 98% Latino, and I have attended several lectures/discussions by Richard Rodriguez over the years. His HUNGER OF MEMORY remains one of the most controversial books in the community in which I work for a significant portion of every year. HUNGER OF MEMORY is viciously hated by some of the most gifted students I have ever had. Others love it. My fellow professionals argue over Mr. Rodriguez and his positions on assimilation and bilingual education. I respect this book and this man. I don't necessarily agree with all he writes, but I do agree he writes what he writes well. I admire what Richard Rodriguez has gone through in life, and I admire the courage of his positions. HUNGER OF MEMORY is an excellent book that anyone interested in the contemporary American Southwest should read. It is extremely educational.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars A steaming pile
Had to read this for an English class. It was torturous. I wouldnt recommend this book to my worst enemy. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Xiaoxu Sun
5.0 out of 5 stars a great read!
I read this book to complete an assignment for a "Teaching Diverse Learners" class. I enjoyed it personally and appreciate Mr. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tobo
1.0 out of 5 stars :(
BORING. this book i about a man talkig about how the american man keeps him down when we give them sooooooo many privleges.
Published 1 month ago by Tony Scinta
5.0 out of 5 stars Used for class
I bought this book for a class, I was concerned it might not be the correct one, but it was and I'm glad I found it cheaper here.
Published 2 months ago by Ramirez
5.0 out of 5 stars great
I got this book before the estimated time which is awesome. the only thing is they should change the picture they show because I got a total different book cover.
Published 12 months ago by nati
4.0 out of 5 stars Teacher
Good book, easy to read. Inspiring for upcoming teachers. Would recommend this book. The author had some tough experiences, but overcame his situation.
Published 12 months ago by miami
4.0 out of 5 stars Hunger of Memory
Richard Rodriguez's "Hunger of Memory" is a fantastic read for someone wondering about the topic of mexican integration into American society, and the "scholorship boy. Read more
Published 12 months ago by wesdan
3.0 out of 5 stars Assigned in a class- pretty interesting
I read this for a class on autobiographies that I took. I think this was a pretty good autobiography; pretty straightforward and no nonsense. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Christopher
3.0 out of 5 stars I HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK BUT...
I'm not reviewing this book but I'm going to comment on the author's essays on MacNeil-Lehrer years ago, some of which I'm sure mirror this volume. One in particular stands out. Read more
Published 14 months ago by SALOON SINGER
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking Book
Read this a few years ago for a Cultures class I took at our local college - it's thought provoking and descriptive - item was as described and shipped timely. Thank you.
Published 23 months ago by S. Morgan
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