“The Book of Want” at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library, February 9th, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

I am delighted to announce that I will be reading from my novel, The Book of Want (University of Arizona Press), at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. The reading will conclude with a Q&A and a book signing.

DATE: Thursday, February 9
TIME: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: UCLA Campus, 144 Haines Hall
CONTACT: Lizette Guerra, Archivist and Librarian, (310) 206-6052
E-MAIL: csrcinfo@chicano.ucla.edu

This is a homecoming, of sorts, because I attended law school at UCLA (where I met my brilliant and beautiful wife). Also, our son, Ben, is now a UCLA junior majoring in anthropology. I hope to see many La Bloga readers in attendance!

Praise for The Book of Want:

"The lives of a Mexican-American family living in Los Angeles unfold in surprising, sometimes delightful ways in Olivas's debut novel (after story collection Anywhere But L.A.). Olivas's approach to the novel resembles his approach to the collection; he resists following characters with regularity or predictability....Olivas's strands work their discreet charm...."

—Publishers Weekly

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“The first novel from L.A. writer (and California deputy attorney general) Daniel A. Olivas focuses on Belén, the deceased, cigarette-puffing matriarch of a Latino family who continues to meddle in her daughters’ affairs through their dreams. Olivas, who also edited the anthology Latinos in Lotusland, grew up in Koreatown and Pico-Union, and sets much of the fanciful story near his old haunts. His brand of magical realism has a sense of humor about itself, and he succeeds in harnessing the genre’s unique ability to expose what’s beneath the surface.”

—Wendy Witherspoon, Los Angeles Magazine

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“Olivas achieves liftoff … I want more Want.”

—Jarret Keene, Tucson Weekly

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"Carefully crafted and provocative, The Book of Want is nothing less than a celebration of human desire in all its forms."

—Robert Moreira, Dark Sky Magazine

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“Discover this book’s stark power for yourself.”

—Virginia Alanis, El Paso Times

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"It’s a work of realism...but not without a dose of the magic—linking it with important works of Latino literature. The Book of Want is one such important work."

—Janelle Adsit, ForeWord Magazine

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“...a book unlike anything else you’ll read this summer, and, perhaps, many summers to come.”

—Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner

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“Olivas' prose is rich but simple, colorful and sometimes irreverent—as whimsical and likeable as his characters. You will find yourself rooting for these people; you will even find yourself wanting for them.”

—Kathleen Yale, High Country News

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“El nuevo libro de Daniel Olivas, The Book of Want, es una encantadora colección de historias entrelazadas que revelan los anhelos de una familia mexicoamericana en la diversa metrópolis de Los Angeles.”

—Lydia Gil, MSN Latino

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“...Olivas' readers will not be disappointed by his effort. The structure of the novel is unique. Each chapter takes its inspiration from one of the Ten Commandments. The result is a story that spans a wide spectrum of characters and settings from the young and elderly to straight and gay. Ethnic and economic barriers are crossed. Rich and poor, Mexican and Jewish themes are also addressed.”

— Mary Ann Cooper, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education