Customer Reviews

Into the Beautiful North

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Into the Beautiful North is funny and painful. Some of it is hard to read. It's about love of all kinds. Nayeli, the heroine, is a wonderful, feisty young woman. Urrea understands and respects women and it shows. He has great compassion for all of the characters in the book. Three young women decide to find men to repopulate their village Tres Camarones (yes, Three Shrimp), when Nayeli realizes all the men are gone. Four friends set out with great innocence, enthusiasm and determination to do something that may or may not even be possible.

Urrea brings the real flavor of a place into being. You feel what it is to be in a small village in Mexico. You feel the heat, and the salt air on your skin.

I don't want to give any spoilers here, you need to discover the book for yourselves, but remember the words "I am Atomiko!"

It's a road trip book, it's a border book, it's a 'buddy' book. It's about the great beauty and pain of Mexico. And the kindness and compassion of some and the cruelty of others. It's about the good and bad of the US, and about surprising kindness and pointless evil. It's about life. But always, it's about love. All the kinds of love that there are. Oh yes, it's about Yul Brynner.

This book would make a wonderful movie, and I'd love to see a sequel. A whole series of books about Nayeli and her friends. I won't tell you what her friends are like, part of the fun is meeting them for the first time.

In this tale of four friends, one notorious and ugly fence, and two cultures, Luis Urrea puts his tremendous storytelling powers, years of experience, and imagination (always sympathetic) to use to create an unforgettable novel. I fell immediately in love with the characters, the dialogue (a great combination of Spanish, English, Hollywood, and street jargon mixed with references to pop fiction, movies, and music), and the scenery. Urrea's descriptive powers never fail him, whether he is describing the surreal charms of small-town Mexico, the insane majesty of the American west or a trip to the supermarket, where the packages of meat are lined up as neatly as books in a library.

I'm not going to waste your time delving into the themes of this book: i'll bet you haven't read anything like it before. It gives new perspectives on Mexican people trying to get into the U.S. illegally, which i thought was fascinating. many of us living in the united states think of illegal immigrants from a U.S. taxpayer's perspective rather than a humanitarian perspective. Although this book may not change your opinion on illegal immigrants, it will definitely be some food for thought. Besides that, this book is just plain funny. I laughed out loud at several parts, which was a pleasant surprise. The characters are strong, yet relatable.

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This was a surprise read. I didn't know what to expect but it was not this. This was a quick, fun read. Exactly what I needed. The dialogue is witty and descriptions fun. The author tells the story of the four friends who encounter the crime and poverty of their beloved country and contrast the problems of living in the United States. This is not a book on politics, immigration laws, or personal opinion. It is the story of one little Mexican town that needed a few good men, a hilarious female mayor, Aunt Irma, three girlfriends, Nayeli, Zolo, and Vampira (satirical name) and their fourth wheel, Tacho, the owner of a diner and personality not to miss. I chuckled my way through the book. A really fun read. Language and sexual innuendo makes it rated PG-13. Appropriate for high school girls. My copy will be given to the high school where I work.

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea on audio was a delight, especially with the voice and passion of Susan Ericksen. Nayeli is a young girl working in a taco shop in Tres Camarones, who continues to idolize her father that left her and her mother many years ago.

Her home is under attack from bandits and drug dealers, but many residents have been abandoned by other men seeking the opportunities found in America. While watching The Magnificent Seven with Yul Brynner, Nayeli and her friends -- Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi -- decide they are going to make a trek to America to bring back the seven they need to save their town.

The audio brings to life the accents, the culture, the beauty of each scene and the playful sparring between these characters and their new surroundings. Ericksen's passion for these characters and this story is clear, illuminating the innocence of Nayeli and her friends and the hardships they face.

From the colorful personalities of Nayeli's gay boss, Tacho, to her vampire/Goth girlfriend Vampi and perky and whiny Yolo to the matriarch of the village Nayeli's Aunt Irma, Urrea paints a mosaic of Mexico and the struggles of illegal immigrants and those seeking a better life. Readers will by far enjoy the quirky Atomico a warrior from the dump outside Tijuana the most as he seeks to defend the four from the ills of the world.

My husband and I were riveted when the audio rolled us to work every morning. Atomico was my husband's favorite character because he was like a comic book character; "I AM ATOMICO." While the border crossings were the most exciting aspects of the novel for my husband, the end of the novel fell flat; he considered it an open ending as if there were more to come -- that the journey had not ended. Urrea's writing is passionate and tangible, capturing the reader instantly and weaving a tale that envelops them completely.

Into the Beautiful North is one of the best novels I've read in 2009, but I plan to read this in hard copy as well.

After having read The Hummingbird's Daughter recently, I was at first disappointed with Luis Alberto Urrea's new novel "In the Beautiful North", which seemed almost shallow and silly by comparison. Having read the whole book, I see "Beautiful" for itself and in a new light. Urrea has written a charming, entertaining and thoroughly modern story about the world of illegal immigration into the US, mostly from an otherwise unexplored female perspective. He humanizes so-called "illegals" and describes their innate love for home and family in Mexico, despite the creature comforts of life in the US. After the harsh stories of "Hummingbird" and "The Devil's Highway", perhaps Urrea craved a lighter palette.

Along the lines of "The Blues Brothers" or "O Brother Where Art Thou", Urrea casts the tale in the form of a mission, this one undertaken by three young women and a gay man to repatriate their Mexican coastal town with Mexican men living in the US. The lead characters are strongly drawn - Nayeli is a soccer star and karate expert, and a girl; Tacho is a sweet, gay cantina operator; Atomika, lord of the trash heaps of Tijuana, is seemingly from another planet. Tia Irma, the new mayor of Tres Camarones, organizes and directs so well that you wonder what Tres Camarones needs with men, at least from a government perspective. Along the way you'll read about border operations - legal, quasi-legal, and illegal. One arrest provides one of the funniest and saddest moments of the book, as does one escape, which is unexpected and hilarious. Urrea's look at Tijuana reminded me of Rohinton Mistry's India in A Fine Balance (Oprah's Book Club). Family is another theme, as one character searches for a father who split Mexico for the US long ago. That search provides a revealing look at the western US through the eyes of young, rural Mexicans.

"In the Beautiful North" would make a great movie, a la Slumdog Millionaire. Perhaps Guillermo Del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame would be interested. Urrea's stories about Mexico and the US deserve a bigger audience. Four stars, maybe even five for readers who've not read "Hummingbird's Daughter". My recommendation now would be to read "Into the Beautiful North" first.

I absolutely loved Urrea's "The Hummingbird's Daughter". So needless to say, I was suuuuper-excited to find out that he had a new novel out.

When I started "Into the Beautiful North", I was a little sad that this one wasn't set in the past, but who wants to read the same book twice?

Without going into too much detail, the story starts out in the Mexican village of Tres Camarones, and chronicles our heroine's journey Nayeli into the USA/San Diego, and then to Illinois in search of her father.

Given the nature of the story, the book will make you examine your views on illegal immigration. Urrea always does a good job of presenting the issue from as many perspectives as possible. So in that regards, it's a very current, modern, relevant book that could be a used in a social studies/ current events-type of class.

One thing I really love about Urrea - and this book - is his characters. They are so life-like; you feel like you truly know them by the end of their story. You'll love some of them so much that you'll want to name your dogs/cats (or children) after them!

"Into the Beautiful North" has an epic "quest" feeling to it. You feel like you're there on a journey with these characters. There are very painfully low points that will make you cry, and some parts that will reaffirm your belief in people as good-hearted souls.

I loved this book. I can't wait to force my wife to read it, so I can have her tell me what's happening in her read of it. Very highly recommended!

Until I read Into the Beautiful North, my experience with the writing of Luis Alberto Urrea has been with his non-fiction books. I enjoyed immensely his keen eye for the idiosyncratic details that make a story one that is worth knowing. Imagine my delight that the same knack for storytelling carries over into his works of fiction!
I won't go into detail about the book because its already been well-outlined by many previous reviewers. I will note that Urrea really knows how to humanize his characters. By the end of the book, you will feel that you actually know the main characters, and know them well. There are even some real people appearing in cameo roles! Is the story believable? No, it isn't meant to be. Is it predictable? Only in the sense that you know that Nayeli is going to find her father. But all the twists and turns that get her to where he is certainly aren't.
One aspect of Urrea's writing I enjoy is that he excels at deftly introducing the reader to real-world issues without overtly taking sides or pontificating at length on how he thinks things ought to be. He just throws them out there and lets the readers mull them over themselves. Examples? Here are a few: Mexican treatment of those illegally in Mexico as in the scene on the bus early in the story. The abuse of poor travelers and official complicity in and indifference to it as when the girls and Tacho had most everything they owned stolen from the luggage compartment on the bus, an act of casual corruption which left them with nowhere to turn in a city as foreign to them as Pyongyang is to most of us. There is a no-nonsense depiction of the brutal Darwinian hierarchy that rules the dumps of Tijuana. Then there is the tense encounter at the restaurant in Green River Utah between the present illegal aliens and the immigrant/owners who had come through proper channels. But through it all runs Urrea's abiding sense of and faith in humanity. That is what ultimately makes this book such a delight to read, Spanglish and all.
Overall, despite a few wobbles, I found Into the Beautiful North an excellent read and hard to put down once I started. Luis Urrea's literary talents are many and are watered from the deep well of his personal experiences. Don't be the last on your block to read him!

This book was not only fun to read but very funny. It's rare for me to actually laugh out loud while reading a book but this happened at least twice while reading this one. Absolute gem of a story - keep it up Urrea, can't wait to read your next one.

Urrea is a playful, generous writer who clearly loves life, women, and prose. Although this novel is not as sprawling as The Hummingbird's Daughter, it is a lively and sensory mini-epic about the love of a village in Mexico and the chance of a dream that extends into America--into the beautiful North--and back.

Nineteen-year old Nayeli shimmers and sways when she walks. She dreams of better things than working at the taco stand in Tres Camarones, the remote village of her birth in Sinaloa. Her father traded his family for a job in the US, "Los Yunaites," years ago. Over time, the men have been disappearing from the village and migrating to Tijuana or even further into the U.S. And now bandidos are threatening to take over the unguarded town.

Nayeli and her friends, as well as her Aunt Irma, who is running for mayor, hatch a plan after watching The Magnificent Seven at the local cinema, The Cine Pedro Infante. With the brio of Yul Brynner (who Irma insists is Mexican) and a determination to repopulate Tres Camaorones with men, they conceive a mission. Nayeli and her friends will find a way to sneak into the US illegally, find seven robust, strapping men, and bring them back to their village. Additionally, Nayeli intends to travel to Illinois, find her father, and convince him to come home.

This novel embraces the exuberance of life and the love of Mexico with a witty, irreverent, and lyrically fluid narrative. All the prime characters are three-dimensional, authentic. Nayeli, with the strong brown calves and alluring, inscrutable smile; La Vampira, or Vampi, the only goth girl in Sinaloa; Yolo, the heady intellectual; and their lone male friend, Tacho--taco-master of The Fallen Hand. They are recruited to join Nayeli on her adventure North. The four friends experience dangerous adventure at the boisterous border in Tijuana and the pain and pleasure of growing up and shedding a few provincial feathers while they test their wings. Odd, ripe characters pepper the novel with their salty tongues, and a striking balance of ardor and menace keeps you off-balance and in suspense. Potent, enchanting, and sizzling like a tortilla in the sun; Into the Beautiful North will dance and delight you, seduce and entice you.