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2 of 2 copies available
Eking out a living as a teacher’s aide in a small New Mexican border town, Tía Regina is also raising her teenage nephew, Gabo, a hardworking boy who has entered the country illegally and aspires to the priesthood. When Gabo’s father, Rafa, disappears while crossing over from Mexico, Regina fears the worst.
After several days of waiting and an ominous phone call from a woman who may be connected to a smuggling ring, Regina and Gabo resolve to find Rafa. Help arrives in the form of Miguel, an amorous, recently divorced history teacher; Miguel’s gregarious abuelo Milton; a couple of Gabo’s gangbanger classmates; and a priest of wayward faith. Between the ruthless “coyotes” who exploit Mexicans while smuggling them to America and the border officials who are out to arrest and deport the illegal immigrants, looming threat is a constant companion on the journey.
Ana Castillo brilliantly evokes the beautiful, stark desert landscape and creates vivid characters with strong voices and resilient hearts. The Guardians serves as a remarkable testament to enduring faith, family bonds, cultural pride, and the human experience.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 7, 2007 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781415943526
- File size: 226978 KB
- Duration: 07:52:52
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Ana Castillo does a credible job of creating the vivid, resilient characters who fill Tia Regina's life in New Mexico, where she ekes out a living as a teacher's aide. The various characters include Tia's teenaged nephew, who aspires to a religious life; divorced teacher Miguel; Miguel's gregarious grandfather; and border officials trying to deport illegal immigrants. Overall, Castillo's voice leans toward a monotone. But her sincerity shines through, especially when she describes the beauty of the stark desert landscape. At significant moments, though, her voice lacks emotion, such as when Tia learns that her brother has disappeared during a trip back from Mexico. Still, Castillo's vibrant look at the American experience through Mexican-American eyes makes worthwhile listening. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine -
April 23, 2007
T
he acclaimed author of Peel My Love Like an Onion
tracks the perilous lives of Mexicans who illegally cross to the U.S. for work. Fifty-something Regina, a poorly paid aide in a public school on the U.S. side, is raising Gabo, the son of her brother, Rafa. Seven years have passed since Gabo’s mother, Ximena, was murdered by “coyotes,” or paid traffickers, during a crossing, her body mutilated for salable organs. As the novel opens, Rafa, who has continued to travel back and forth for work, is due to arrive, but vanishes. With Miguel Betancourt, a divorced teacher at Regina’s school in his mid-30s, Regina tries to confront the coyotes who were supposed to cross Rafa. In alternating first-person chapters, Castillo writes convincingly in the voices of the canny, struggling Regina, who remains a virgin after a being widowed in an unconsummated marriage; the desirous Miguel; the passionately religious Gabo; and El Abuelo Milton, Miguel’s elderly grandfather. All are sucked into a vortex of horror as the search for Rafa consumes them. Castillo takes readers forcefully into the lives of the neglected and abused, but missing is a full emotional connection to the protagonists, who remain strangely absent even as their fates are sealed.
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