Customer Reviews

Orange County: A Personal History

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While most writing and almost all journalism is attempting to make their subjects less complex Gustavo Arellano is accepting the complexity and relishing it. His book "Orange County' is a wonderfully complex story of his family, its migration, the towns where they settled, the history of the towns and the strange paradox that is Orange County, California. There are very funny repetitions of lists of Aunts (I think he's mocking Leviticus) the story of his being a nerd among the macho and constant jibes at the gabachos. My favorite part was the restaurant recommendations , one for each town except Leisure World.
This is the perfect book to give as a Christmas gift to anyone with a sense of humor who lives in Orange County. It is a quick read, it has new data and will make you think again about the place you live.
Well done!

As a native born South Texan, I never gave California much thought till I came out to teach here in the early 90s. Since then I have been blown away by the beauty and horrors of a magnificent state--staggered by its resources and its peoples, floored by its violent and surprising history. Gustavo Arellano's ORANGE COUNTY is one of those delicious, honest tomes that tells the various ugly, outrageous, AND beautiful stories of southern California with wit, vision, pace, and style. A unique book--one part memoir, one part history, one part investigative journalism--Arellano's volume explores the backstory of the Southlands, uncovering skeletons, crazies, and, of course, oranges along the way. Any student of contemporary writing will find much to learn from and ponder in this volume; Californiana aficionados will find that and more, as the all-too-often white-washed contours of the Californias are reborn in the electric writings of the man better known as Ask a Mexican.

OC Weekly's, Gustavo "Ask a Mexican" Arellano does it again! For those of us who live in the REAL OC, and even for those who don't - Gustavo flawlessly weaves a personal family history with the raw and interesting facts of this great county of ours. Amazing book, choc full of Arellano's brand of wit (as always). A must read!

This is a great story combining the history of Orange County with a memoir of the author. Arellano is pretty well know in "the OC" for his weekly column "Ask a Mexican" and this book reflects his wit and wisdom as well. I really enjoyed it.

Gustavo Arellano is one of my favorite young authors. He writes a regular column for the OC Weekly called "Ask a Mexican". Standing astride two distinct cultures in Southern California is not always an easy task, but Gustavo manages to do so with humor and bite. I loved the book, but I am familiar with all of the Orange County references as I live in the area. As other reviewers have mentioned, the book is divided into alternating chapters chronicling the family history of Gustavo Arellano and topics related to Orange County. I am a teacher at a high school with a large Latino student body. The personal story of Gustavo's family revealing warts and all was fascinating and I gained new insight (and some confirmation)into the lives of my students. I adored the chapters on Orange County, but you have to be a local to really appreciate some of the crazy things that have happened in the county. From the Ku Klux Klan in Anaheim during the 1920's to the current doggie fashion show at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, the book describes the eclectic OC lifestyle. Gustavo does have a liberal bent and is a little bit overbearing at times, but he is also FUNNY. Overall, a good read.

If you've gotten into (and get the spot-on humor of) the "Ask A Mexican" column [...]) that Arellano writes for the Orange County Weekly, then pick this up.

Basically it's a memoir of Arellano's life growing up in Ornage County but it's also a tale of how a village in Mexico became transplanted to the region and how Arellano developed his incredible style of writing. The short asides focusing on the various cities that form the county are a great addition as are the one restaurant he picks in each as worth checking out.

The only chapter that made my eyes glaze over was the one on religion. I know I should care about that topic but I just don't especially when it comes to the evangelical types who created drive-in congregations and are wealthier than most Third World nations.

The author also understands that to truly understand racism, it has to be approached with this sense of absurd humor that Arellano just plain gets.

Arellano brilliantly combines family anecdotes and county history to expose the Orange County that exists beneath the glamorized, pop-culture hogwash that has been displayed by the media in the 00s. This book is just as unabashed and politically incorrect as his "Ask a Mexican!" column, and in every way just as honest. Arellano reveals the near-traumatizing memories of his father's alcoholism, his attraction to cousins, and his struggle to proudly identify as a Mexican. At the same time, he tackles conservative politics and reveals Orange County's damning past; from the hypocrisy of its famed lawmakers to the media's refusal to cover one of the region's largest strikes.

Concisely written and nicely paced, this book will be an enjoyable, easy read. For academics, you'll thirst to discover more about the county; for passive readers, you'll be glad he didn't get into too much detail. This book will be cherished by the progressive leftist types, but even talk radio fans will want to see what Arellano has to say with every page.

This is a book that's probably only going to be very interesting for people from Southern California, generally speaking. Especially people from the Greater Los Angeles area, for obvious reasons.

There's some great historical information about Orange County, great depth into how the Catholic Church scandal affected Orange County and some interesting Arellano family history.

I recommend it to all Southern Californians, people who have an interest Mexican-American history, people with an interest in Orange County and anyone who enjoys a fun, yet informative, reads.

I bought 4 of the same book as stocking stuffers for Christmas. My family members that received the books were thrilled and kept flipping thru the pages while everyone was still opening presents. I'm looking forward to reading this once one of them is done.

I like Arellano, and expected better. The book is in 2 parts: (1) Arellano's family history; (2) Chapters on OC, such as religion, politics, and media attention.

The first part, on family history, was bloated, and -- surprisingly -- just not too interesting. It seemed like the middle school essays we all wrote about our families, cramming too many aunts and uncles into repetitive stories. True, there were a few good anecdotes, but nothing exceedingly interesting, historic, or memorable. And I didn't feel like I cared about any of his family members (except for him) by the end of the book.

The second part, in alternating chapters, concerned OC. It was interesting, but nothing amazing. OC religion, OC politics, and OC TV shows are inherently interesting, and it would have been hard to screw up this part of the book. Arellano did a good job of describing his vantagepoint. How his sheltered views about politics and the world changed, and how he became more progressive, activist, (while incurring the wrath of other activists), and famous was somewhat interesting.

If you need something light to read on a plane or the beach, and might not finish the book, I recommend Gustavo Arellano's Orange County.