La Maravilla [Paperback]

Alfredo Vea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

"A forceful vision of the vibrant, symbiotic co-existence of colliding cultures" (San Francisco Chronicle), this much-praised literary debut by Mexican-American author Vea spins a lyrical and largely autobiographical tale of life in a squatter's community outside Phoenix in the 1950s.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Vea's debut, a nine-year-old boy searches for meaning amid the squatters and rusty Cadillacs of an impoverished Phoenix suburb in 1958.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Marigolds, the flowers of the goddesses, and an old dog, the herald of completion, give the Spanish title to this first novel of magic, deep love, and grinding poverty in a neglected edge of Phoenix. At its center is Beto, a fatherless, prematurely wise boy, and his abuelitos ("grandparents"), Spanish Catholic Josephina and Yaqui Manuel. They live on Buckeye Road, a place of peculiar racial harmony born of solidarity in poverty. Their neighbors in this Cadillac graveyard and tarpaper community include young Boydeen, living scarred under a porch and speechlessly writing down all she hears; and mournful prostitute Vernetta, whose abundant flesh diminishes with her lost son's return. Many fascinating characters with singular, sometimes fantastic stories both enliven and crowd this sorrowful, entertaining, erratic novel. A good choice for adventurous readers.
- Janet Ingraham, Worthington P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Plume (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452271606
• ISBN-13: 978-0452271609
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was begun in anger. It did not stay that way., August 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: La Maravilla (Paperback)

i began to write this book in 1989 when i was defending a Mexican-American boy against a charge of murder. The judge and the jury in this small San Joaquin valley town were so incredibly racist and abusive toward my client and myself that I took my anger and frustration to my small computer. (The boy was convicted, but his sentence has since been reversed...specifically because of the the judge's abuse of his power.) A story of the true origins of culture; a story about race that began in anger slowly became a love song for culture, for people on the outside. ALFREDO VEA JR.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely one of the most beautiful books ever written., December 7, 2000

By 

C. L. Schoon "highly calibrated sarcasm machine" (Longmont, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Maravilla (Paperback)

This book is honestly the best one I have encountered in a very, very long time. The manipulation of time, the unexpectedness of virtues in characters so many other authors would have made into cliches, the theme of physics as a unifying science, all make this a book about so much more than "Buckeye". It's about the world, the universe, life and death, ancient ways colliding with progress. If you want to change the way you see the world, read this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the most moving book I have read; a work to cherish., February 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: La Maravilla (Paperback)

This novel carries with it ghosts and magic, love and forgiveness; it carries the embodiment of the human spirit. It is simply a work that has affected me deeply for several years--something I may pick occassionally to read aloud, to hear the lyric and respect with which this story has been told.

The pastiche of characters: Beto and his family, locals and drifters, find humanity within each others' alienation in a desolate yet profound environment.

If you have been moved by the history and beauty of Marquez or Allende, and other so-called Magic Realists, if the poetic style of Michael Ondaatje appeals to you, and if you are still haunted by the characters of Steinbeck's "The Wayward Bus" or "Cannery Row"--you must read this book. And if you have read this book, please consider reading a book by Canadian author Sky Lee called "Disappearing Moon Cafe." It is equally as gorgeous.