Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Qty:1
  • List Price: $16.00
  • Save: $3.93 (25%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
The Tattooed Soldier: A N... has been added to your Cart
Want it Monday, April 11? Order within and choose Two-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
+ $3.99 shipping
Used: Like New | Details
Sold by bookoutlet1
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: Ships Within 24 Hours M-F- Satisfaction Guaranteed! Unread Copy in excellent condition. Has a publisher overstock mark.

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 3 images

The Tattooed Soldier: A Novel Paperback – October 7, 2014

by
Héctor Tobar (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Héctor Tobar Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Héctor Tobar (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 28 customer reviews
See all 7 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$12.77
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$25.00 $8.54
Paperback
"Please retry"
$12.07
$7.98 $7.97
New In Literary Fiction
Tuesday Nights in 1980
Tuesday Nights in 1980
Tuesday Nights in 1980
$12.07 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

  • The Tattooed Soldier: A Novel
  • +
  • Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
  • +
  • The Columbia History of Latinos in the United States Since 1960
Total price: $57.34
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
    Juan Gonzalez
    4.6 out of 5 stars 69
    Paperback
    $13.01 Prime
  2. The Columbia History of Latinos in the United States Since 1960
    David G. Gutiérrez
    5.0 out of 5 stars 3
    Paperback
    $32.26 Prime
  3. The Devil's Highway: A True Story
    Luis Alberto Urrea
    4.5 out of 5 stars 229
    #1 Best Seller in Hispanic American Demographic…
    Paperback
    $11.49 Prime
  4. Under the Feet of Jesus
    Helena Maria…
    3.9 out of 5 stars 41
    Paperback
    $13.50 Prime
  5. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child
    Francisco Jiménez
    4.5 out of 5 stars 116
    Paperback
    $11.77 Prime
  6. Bodega Dreams
    Ernesto Quinonez
    4.3 out of 5 stars 145
    Paperback
    $13.45 Prime
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Picador; Reprint edition (October 7, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1250055857
  • ISBN-13: 978-1250055859
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsTobar hits a nerver
By Mike Molek on May 18, 2003
Format: Paperback
Hector Tobar's depressing but masterfully-written The Tattooed Soldier is a compelling story of tragedy and revenge, and provides a deep insight into the poverty-stricken lives of immigrants to Los Angeles.
Several background stories, each focusing on a different major character, intertwine to tell the tale of Antonio Bernal. Antonio, a bookish young man from a lower-class family, attends a university in Guatemala. This is where he meets his future wife, Elena; a passionate revolutionary, fearless and irreverent of the government's attempts to quell such actions, Elena worries that the ones she loves will suffer for her actions. One day, a "death squad," with leader Guillermo Longoria (the title's "tattooed soldier"), takes the lives of Antonio's wife and infant son. Forced to leave the country, Antonio moves to Los Angeles, seeking a better life. What he finds there is not opportunity, but rather homelessness and poverty.
Evicted at the start of the book, Antonio and his roommate live on a hill with others like them. Purely by chance, Antonio sees Guillermo again, and works up the courage to confront him.
The true focus of the story, however, is not Antonio; it is everything around Antonio. It seems that everywhere he goes, he sees nothing but poverty and despair. In Guatemala City, there were army groups created to fight freedom of expression. In San Cristobál, there were funerals for babies at least twice a month. Los Angeles is no different, despite the common perception that it is a land of opportunity. "Perhaps they could move to Mexico. Save enough money to move to Mexico or the United States. A place where they could be safe and their daughter, or son, could be educated.Read more ›
Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsAmazing Book
By Andrew J. Miller on May 22, 2012
Format: Paperback
This is the 2nd book I have read by Mr. Tobar, the first being Barbarian Nurseries. In contrast to Barbarian Nurseries, which I read in about four days, this book took me several weeks even though it was much shorter. And, I would say similar to Patrick Symmes' nonfiction book "The Boys from Dolores", which also took me a long time, this was a worthwhile read.

First, I really appreciate Mr. Tobar's taking me into characters' lives that I would never know how they thought or how their lives were otherwise - the soldier from Guatemala, the University-educated immigrant from Guatemala who has lost everything that mattered for no reason other than fate. I also appreciate the fact that he uses Latino and Latin American characters in fiction. There aren't many authors I know of in English who do this (creating Latino and Latin American characters) using the third-person voice - Sebastian Rotella's book Triple Crossing (2011) does this, as does Tobar in his newest book.

Second - Tobar takes us on a tour of Los Angeles' history and the history of neighborhoods I will never know and would never have thought about.

In any event - this is a great read. I don't think the characters are thin at all - for the most part, the protagonists are pretty believable - Guillermo, Antonio, Elena, many others. If a character seems thin, it's not a main character. Even the chess players I thought were absolutely believable. I feel like I see some of the people Tobar writes about when I walk around many cities.

Bottom line: a great read. I loved it and hope Tobar considers writing more fiction. I will definitely read it.
Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starscouldn't put it down
By s.c. on February 16, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is a beautifully written book that tackles the profound issues of our times with characters you won't forget long after the book is over. The book starts in Guatemala and covers a period of history that was suppressed in the US for decades. A psychological thriller with close intimate portraits of inner lives that will get under your skin.

Should be on HS curriculum in all the US.

His latest book is excellent as well, a much more incisive look at immigrant issues than the popular The Help.
Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsAn extraordinary novel: gripping, powerful and true.
By Gary B. on July 22, 1998
Format: Hardcover
The last novel I read at one sitting, a long time ago, was Dreiser's An American Tragedy. This more modern American tragedy may be even better. This story literally pulls the reader along, and ever more deeply into lives seldom acknowledged in American letters. Without being in the least didactic, Tobar also brings us closer to the human face of secret wars abroad and homegrown homelessness. As someone who has spent some time in the neighborhoods Tobar depicts, I was impressed by Tobar's fine eye and ear. No doubt most readers will be most impressed with The Tatooed Soldier as an exceptional tale of the most unexceptional human qualities: love, anguish, guilt, revenge, and -- if we are lucky -- liberation. An extraordinary accomplishment.
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsA truly great novel.
By H. B. Franklin on April 23, 2002
Format: Paperback
This beautifully constructed novel has everything:
profoundly moving characters and situations; penetrating
vision into the political economy of the United States and
Latin America; an invaluable history lesson; social realism
of the highest order; psychological and ideological
profundity; a revelation of the true meaning of the so-called
"global village." I am now assigning it in both graduate
and undergraduate courses here at Rutgers University in
Newark.
Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

The Tattooed Soldier: A Novel
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: The Tattooed Soldier: A Novel
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.