Customer Reviews

My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is the first book since fifth grade that has actually made me cry. In fifth grade, I cried because the fictional main character's pet goose died. I cried while reading "My Bloody Life" because "Reymundo Sanchez's" life was non-fiction and common in our nation's cities.

Sanchez's eyes opened up and he ended up leaving the Latin Kings (unlike "Slim" and others who were killed instead of being allowed to leave). He writes from the perspective of an older man who is able to look back on his life and truly reflect on what the event of his life signified. Thus he is able to reflect on his decisions, then explain his thought process at the time (eg. when the 35-year-old Maria takes 13-year-old Reymundo's virginity, he is able to say that he now realizes that what Maria did was horrible and probably ruined many future sexual experiences for him. But at that time, all he wanted was to have sex and "be a man.")

Sanchez is able to soberly reflect on his life. The result is a flowing, "matter-of-fact" prose as he describes his introduction to alcohol and marijuana (at the age of 12), his physically abusive parents, his multiple murders, his violence against others, his physical and sexual abuse of other women, his drug dealing and cocaine addiction. The rapidity with which Sanchez went from a nice kid with good grades to an amazingly violent, self-centered gang-banger is both shocking and sad.

This was a very powerful book set in a neighborhood not too far from my house. To know the daily goings on a few miles from my house, in the neighborhood my parents grew up in is very sad. The subject matter is violent, graphic and quite disturbing, but needs to be read. You probably won't have a good time reading this book, but you'll be doing yourself a favor if you do. Recommended.

My Bloody Life is rather straightforward memoir about Sanchez's randomly brutal childhood and his subsequent violent career with the Latin Kings in Chicago. And a very violent career it was: bloodshed and drug addiction are the two major elements of the narrative. For all of that, this reader did not feel that the author was patronizing us or shocking us for its own sake: he is describing his world as he saw it, and he didn't live by Walden Pond. My Bloody Life does nothing to glamourize gang life, but it is apparent that the Latin Kings did provide Mr. Sanchez with the only community, the only family he has ever had. This adds a poignant note to an unsentimental memoir: it is only when the author is speaking of the gang that you feel he is connected to the world around him. The Latin Kings gave him a chance to be on the winning side of violence, for a while, instead of just being its clueless victim.

The prose is unadorned, the rhetorical tricks few, and the printing errors more frequent that I would wish, but I read this book with the sense that I was reading a life, and not just puffery or bathos. And that is what all memoirs are for. In addition, My Bloody Life tells us a great deal about one gang and one gangbanger, things that many of us do not understand very well, even if we see them everyday. Is this book worth reading? Most definitely.

Excellent description of gang life, and how young men are sucked into that life. Witten by a former Latin King who joined at a very young age, and quickly rose through the ranks to become a street level leader.

During this period, he became addicted to drugs, and his life spiraled out of control. The only reason he is alive to write this book is that he got out before he hit his late teens.

The book lays out in great and convincing detail what it means to be a member of a street gang. One forgets that the author did everything that he describes in about three years (the time line is apparently intentionally fudged), and all before he reached adulthood.

The only warning I would give is that the book does not really explore the higher reaches of the gang structure. The author readily admits that he never came anywhere near that level, and was used and abused by those that did. That is the book I am waiting for.

This book is amazing.It's so real as you read on.is exacly what life is like for most puerto ricans as child and the life around chicago and humbolt park. As I continued readind forward it felt as if I was reading one of my brothers story, i truly understud everything Reymundo had to say. people judge us teenagers who have lived around that area but they don't know what is like living in it.. Its terrible living there and is ashamed that is where my people are at.I think that my own people give themselves a bad name.Is like they are such dirt, especially the majority whom live there.there's one thing I have to say to the aof this book, and taht is that I'm so proud of him and I wish him good luck.

GROWING UP IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD, AND SEEING FIRST HAND THE REALITY OF WHAT HE WROTE I COULDENT HELP BUT BE CAPTIVATED BY THE BOOK. HE LEADS YOU ON AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER THROUGH FEELINGS AND ENCOUNTERS HE HAD THROUGHOUT LIFE. FOR ANYONE WHO EVER HAD A CURIOSITY OF THE GRIITY WORLD OF GANGS THIS IS A MUST READ

My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King is a story written by Reymundo Sanchez (a pseudonym). Mr. Sanchez tries to teach readers about the dangers of being a gang member. Reymundo opens a reader's eyes to the gang world by explaining his personal experiences and through his friend's experiences. The gang world is far more multifarious than how it is depicted in movies and TV shows.

Reymundo Sanchez gets an inside look on one of the largest and most organized Hispanic street gangs, by being a former gang member of the Latin Kings. As a kid Reymundo was physically abused by his parents and did not have family to lean on. At a very young age Reymundo was forced to lean on himself and was driven to the life of a gangster. Mr. Sanchez explains how he thought gangs were like a family, a "brother" is there for each other when one needs help. Soon enough he realized "brotherhood" is only strong if one can benefit from the other. He performed his first "hit" at the age of 14 and from then on, he understood the hardship his life would have to undergo just to survive.

Mr. Sanchez clearly depicts each gruesome experience he had to endure because of his gang activity. He also explains his side of the story and reveals truly how he felt inside when the use of drugs, the killing of innocent people, and promiscuous activity happened. Reymundo tells the appalling truth that makes a reader think differently about gangs. It successfully shows the dangers of being in a gang. However, it does not just give the reader stereotypical views on gang members. When a person hears gang member, the first word that pops into their heads is "bad". Most people do not bother to understand why these kids become these "bad" gang members. Reymundo explains how most kids get tangled into gangs because they were in search for a "family like" structure in their lives. Then these kids get in way over their head and cannot get out of the gang. Mr.Sanchez tells the readers how he had to get beaten up, just to get out of the gang. This is a clear example of the difficulty aspects of getting out of a gang. Then, there are emotional aspects of feeling alone, because of leaving the closest entity to family that these gang members once thought they had.

This book does not require a lot to put a reader on the edge of his or her seat. It has action, romance, a little comedy, but mostly a lot of drama. It can be a bit graphic for some people. Other readers seem to think the book was written in self pity and has bad grammar. Reymundo's book talks much about sex, drugs, and alcohol, which can also bother some readers. It is more recommended for people that are somewhat interested in the subject of gang life.

If you want to know what it is like to be a gang banger, read this book. Though I was not a gang banger in my younger days, I was affiliated with The Gaylords and I suspect the the Author and myself is about the same age. I watched a lot of people rise and fall and it's all the same whether you're black, white or hispanic. I have witnessed and heard of some horror stories, but living it like Lil' Loco is a whole different ballgame. The Author, Reymundo Sanchez, is very explicit in details and he is straight to the point. It really goes to show just how stupid gang banging is, though you feel how they think of the importance of their existence through the eyes of Reymundo Sanchez. Reymundo, You mentioned what a coward you were though the whole book, but I think you are very brave to write a book like this. Good Luck on your degree! Stay straight, stay honest and the best of luck to you.

This is one great book. As I read it, many memories of my childhood on the southside of chicago came back. The life he writes about is true now as it was then. This book is surely a voice coming out of the hood. But as reymundo states in the first page, "Unfortunately the people who need to hear this message the most will probsbly never read this book." This book should be given to someone in the gang life to open the eyes of the kids who have taken the wrong road. It should be looked at not only as a story to read but also as a lesson to learn and teach to others. Because there are many scared youth today in the clutches of the gangs in all neighborhoods looking for a way out and all they need is a path to follow.

I hope Mr. sanchez does not give up his dream of getting his degree. The book about that story will truely be even greater that the one about his past. It will teach the latino youth that we can achieve all our goals. I am close to receiving my degree and I know this is the best example I can set kids and other young latinos who have no postive role models to follow and admire. Don't quit trying mi hermano. ""AMOR"

i was expecting a tough in your face gritty account of life as a L.K. the same accounts depicted on t.v. documentaries..however i felt the book focused more on the authors sexual escapedes then his actual account of gang life..and the little written of his gang activity is based in the late 70 era..and not at all the magnitude or the rise of L.K. of the modern times of today..i found myself skimming thru ppages and skipping chapters looking for somthing worth reading..it truly lacks..

This is a well-written book that deserves to be well-read. Told in autobiographical style, it helped me understand gang culture much more deeply than I did before.

This is an extremely graphic story, but we can't shield our youth from a reality that many already experience in some form or another. I would definitely consider using selections from this book with my high school students during our study of gangs. Although the author in no way intends to glorify gang-life I can't help but wonder if some younger readers might walk away from this book without fully absorbing the dangers associated with all of the author's activities--not just his explicitly violent acts.

The author doesn't provide any easy answers but if you read between the lines the implications are clear: Urban areas need job programs, expanded youth activities leagues, increased education funding and community policing/anti-police brutality programs. Rather than clipping at the branches, we need to deal with the roots of gangs and gang violence.