In this novel made of nine short stories, the Barroso family dominates commerce along the Mexican border with the US. The leading character, Leonardo Barroso, has made a fortune out of this, and we see how much his doings have affected the life of Mexicans. One character goes looking for a job and suffers harrassment from his employers, another one tries to get into the US with the help of the 'espaldas mojadas' (wet backs) and is killed trying. Finally, in the last episode all the individual stories come to a same ending: the misunderstanding between both countries will go on. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - depressed Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Political/social activism Yes Plotlet: Ethnic/Regional/Religion Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 60's-90's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 () United States Yes The Americas (not US): Yes The Americas: - Mexico Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only - actual description of hetero sex Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |