tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post2201570277842404266..comments2024-03-26T09:40:00.710-06:00Comments on La Bloga: Empathy for a jerk. Note by Note. Two Reviews.Contributing Bloguistas:http://www.blogger.com/profile/13054190814722049711noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-85729695709919758092008-07-24T10:10:00.000-06:002008-07-24T10:10:00.000-06:00I find it interesting that some readers feel compe...I find it interesting that some readers feel compelled to like or defend characters in novels or plays. This is puro empathy, or quizás listening too closely to the colors of powerful prose. One can understand a character like Sonny, yet not want him living next door.<BR/><BR/>Extenuating circumstances might temper the pejoration inherent in being called a loser or a jerk. Lucky, Didi, Estragon, the Danish prince, Mickey Acuña, are no less interesting for being troubled tipos. <BR/><BR/>An issue I'd like to explore ongoing relates to the ethos of the Chicana Chicano hero and antihero. Sonny, for example. Is his act for Nica noble, or dangerous? Regardless, do motives excuse modalities, or define them?<BR/><BR/>At the same time, I want to celebrate chicanarte for its own sake. It's like when Mickey Acuña makes the scene. Same year, Richard Ford comes out with Independence Day, and wins a Pulitzer Prize for that story of an East Coast loser. Yet, Gilb's work is the better, more powerfully written novel. Maybe class (of the jurors probably) has something to do with critical appreciation--Ford's character is a middle class loser with a family, whereas soltero Mickey Acuña's last known residence is the YMCA. (And who knows if the jurors took the opportunity to read Gilb?)<BR/><BR/>I appreciate Sheryl's, christine's, and raul garcia's comments. Thank you. Maybe one day Gilb will do us the favor of letting us meet Sonny and Nica a couple of years down the road. Where do you suppose time has taken them?msedanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09527530005391318421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-63834668550429915232008-07-23T16:12:00.000-06:002008-07-23T16:12:00.000-06:00first of all mickey acuña does not 'just walk away...first of all mickey acuña does not 'just walk away' at the end of gilb's novel. that is like saying waitng for godot is too much about 'waiting' and next criticizing beckett for not making his characters do something else that is more understandable. beckett's characters are complex and so are his plays. gilb's too. yr criticizing gilb's character sonny in his amazing novel is par to not liking fiction that is not for right in elementary school<BR/><BR/>a friend who saw yrs wrote me you probably wouldn't like hamlet very much either! he'd be a jerk and a loser according to yr standards too. prince hamlet didn't like his mother or stepfather either. he even kills them both.<BR/><BR/>i read yr review of the book and tho i already read dagoberto gilb's newest and i found it was literary achivement, yr summary of the story made me believe it even more. aren't yr worries about sex and sonny's stealing slighly puritanical? and it is fiction! i did not for a second see sonny as a bad character. not a jerk or a loser. sounds like the reilly factor radio to me. he has trouble. he is like us, fighting. waiting for godot too. tho maybe sonny helped there when he helped nica.<BR/><BR/>i appreciate yr willingness to put yr opinion out there, even if i disagree. i can't agree more with the two commenters above too. gilb has unique talent that isn't easy. like lots of artists whos work will last.<BR/><BR/>--raul garciaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-40666956355292255502008-07-23T09:41:00.000-06:002008-07-23T09:41:00.000-06:00You're absolutely right Sheryl, Gilb's book, and t...You're absolutely right Sheryl, Gilb's book, and the man, questions demands "that societal stereotypes place on individuals." He does this within our own community, by that I mean the Latino, more specifically the Mexican American writing community, makes people examine themselves, their motivations, reasons for doing things. What I like about this book in particular is that it doesn't pander to an Anglo audience (actually all his books do) or the Mexican American one. He just writes truthful and honest characters without thinking about or what the larger community will think of them. <BR/><BR/>I think if I may so bold to suggest that his work is ahead of its time in our own community. He writes as if we are past the point of explaining the cultura to anyone within our lit. He writes about the human condition, using characters who happen to be Mexican American. He writes as we all should, like we are a part of mainstream American, not it's bastard child that views us as such.<BR/><BR/>This review of the book was an eye opener for me as I never once saw the kid Sonny as 'a loser.' I saw him as a representation of me, the working class, of all of us (Mexican Americans). How I, we grow up in this day and age, a commentary on race relations but never once as a loser. I found the narrator a strong individual, who made choices because of circumstances beyond his control. But I also get that ultimately a person reading a book views a character or story based on what and how they believe, with their own prejudices attached.<BR/><BR/>Gilb's characters are complicated just like being Mexican American. Everyone knows and understands the push pull of race especially here in the States, where prejudice about race is mixed up with prejudice about class. I'm grateful his work is a part of our community lit. and don't understand why he doesn't get as much support as others seem to receive our community.Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02960660575661512278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-95077925901647762008-07-23T08:53:00.000-06:002008-07-23T08:53:00.000-06:00I think Gilb complicates issues of race and class....I think Gilb complicates issues of race and class. He moves beyond simplistic black and white views or polemics of what it means to be Latino or of any cultural or racial group. He mixes things up and takes risks with language. The language of the book is quite dazzling. The words spring off the page. I like this about his work. There is a conscious undertaking to approach language as an artist rather than a politician. It is not dull because it is filled with surpising turns and subtle restraint. He complicates things and this in my opinion, is the mark of an artist. I also find Sonny's reaction to an abusive situation very interesting. How one negotiates such power dynamics to a place of survival is interesting in itself to me as one reader. The characters question demands that societal stereotypes place on individuals. Here Sonny does so with his imagination. I like such language play and such questioning.Sherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15714880589297494206noreply@blogger.com