In The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez, Amalia Gomez thinks she sees a large silver cross in the sky. A miraculous sign, perhaps, but one the down-to-earth Amalia does not trust. Through Amalia, we take a vivid and moving tour of the "other Hollywood," populated by working-class Mexican Americans, as John Rechy blends tough realism with religious and cultural fables to take us into the life of a Chicano family in L.A. Epic in scope and vision, The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez is classic Rechy.
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Book Description
--This text refers to the
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Sexually abused by her drunken father, twice-divorced Amalia Gomez lives with her two rebellious teenage chidren, Juan and Gloria, in the decaying, gang-ridden outskirts of Hollywood. Rechy ( Marilyn's Daughter ), himself Mexican American, probes the dark underside of the American dream in this powerful portrait of one day in the life of a Mexican American woman and her shattered family. Amalia's battered girlhood in El Paso, Tex., and her relationships with husbands who abandoned or raped her come alive via extended flashbacks. Transplanted to California, she pretends that she's married to her live-in lover Raynaldo. Pious, she sees holy signs everywhere, torn by grief over Manny, her firstborn son who died in prison, possibly murdered by guards. Shattering revelations at the book's close concern homosexuality and sexual abuse under her roof. Rechy scorchingly evokes the prejudice faced by Mexican Americans and other minorities, the poverty, gang warfare, illegal border crossings and visions of salvation amid hopelessness.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Amalia Gomez awakens one day and looks out her window in the barrios of Los Angeles to see a silver cross in the sky--a sign from God. This Mexican-American woman is always looking for the brighter side of life, never wanting to face her real-life problems or those of her children, friends, or neighbors. From the early morning cross in the sky to Amalia's near murder at the end of the day, readers are given a glimpse of life in a decaying urban environment and see from Amalia's perspective the motivations and challenges of barrio life. Rechy, a Mexican-American author, presents a rich portrayal of Amalia in this readable and moving work, punctuating his work with Spanish dialog. The characters are vibrant and ring true. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.
- Mary Molinaro, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Mary Molinaro, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hauntingly Powerful,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez (Paperback)
Gorgeous prose graces every page of this book! The ending is one of the truly all-time greats -- the work of a master at his peak. The story will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered about the meaning of faith. Don't be put off by the book's small size -- this novel packs a punch, well after you've put it down!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not City Of Night,
By Frank (Dallas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez (Paperback)
This too recommended to me. I remember the Rechy who wrote City of Night, one of the best books of the 1960s. I still would recommend that novel of the gay hustler streets from El Paso to Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the setting of Amalia Gomez, too, but the story seems forced. It's not bad, but I've I stopped reading it.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
WHEN AMALIA GOMEZ woke up, a half hour later than on other Saturdays because last night she had had three beers instead of her usual weekend two, she looked out, startled by God knows what, past the screenless iron-barred window of her stucco bungalow unit in one of the many decaying neighborhoods that sprout off the shabbiest part of Hollywood Boulevard; and she saw a large silver cross in the otherwise clear sky. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
public attorney, extra beer, miraculous day, sewing factory Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, Blessed Mother, Holy Mother, Our Lady, Father Ysidro, Padre Rogelio, Sunset Boulevard, Dofia Esmeralda, Maria Felix, Mother Mercedes, Mother of Sorrows, Our Lord, Immaculate Conception, Sacred Mother, Red Cross, Universal Studios, Virgin Mary, Ava Gardner, Beverly Hills, Big One, Miraculous Mother, Teresa's La Dolorosa, Amalia Amalia, Diet Pepsi, Father Emilio New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
WHEN AMALIA GOMEZ woke up, a half hour later than on other Saturdays because last night she had had three beers instead of her usual weekend two, she looked out, startled by God knows what, past the screenless iron-barred window of her stucco bungalow unit in one of the many decaying neighborhoods that sprout off the shabbiest part of Hollywood Boulevard; and she saw a large silver cross in the otherwise clear sky. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
public attorney, extra beer, miraculous day, sewing factory Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, Blessed Mother, Holy Mother, Our Lady, Father Ysidro, Padre Rogelio, Sunset Boulevard, Dofia Esmeralda, Maria Felix, Mother Mercedes, Mother of Sorrows, Our Lord, Immaculate Conception, Sacred Mother, Red Cross, Universal Studios, Virgin Mary, Ava Gardner, Beverly Hills, Big One, Miraculous Mother, Teresa's La Dolorosa, Amalia Amalia, Diet Pepsi, Father Emilio New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 6
books:
See all 6 books this book cites
5
books
cite this book:
- City of Night (Rechy, John) by John Rechy in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- The Coming of the Night (Rechy, John) by John Rechy in Front Matter
- Bodies and Souls by John Rechy in Front Matter
- The Fourth Angel (Rechy, John) by John Rechy in Front Matter
- The Sexual Outlaw: A Documentary (Rechy, John) by John Rechy in Front Matter
See all 6 books this book cites
- Wilderness City: The Post-War American Urban Novel from Nelson Algren to John Edger Wideman (Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory) by Ted Clontz in Front Matter, and page 109
- Latino Fiction and the Modernist Imagination: Literature of the Borderlands (Latino Communities: Emerging Voices - Political, Social, Cultural and Legal Issues) by John S. Christie on page 26, and page 88
- Imagining Los Angeles: A City In Fiction (Western Literature Series) by David Fine on page 237, and page 241
- Under the Fifth Sun: Latino Literature from California (California Legacy Book) by Rick Heide on page 514
- The Latino Reader: An American Literary Tradition from 1542 to the Present by Harold Augenbraum on page 253
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