The Guardians: A Novel

The Guardians: A Novel by Ana Castillo
Oh my! How timely to read this view of our country's current Mexican immigration problems. I attended a book club discussion in Surfside lead by a CCU professor. She discussed and demonstrated the allegories in the book. None of us in the audience had realized them. The story followed Paradise Lost and Genesis. We noted names of the characters: Milton, the 4 archangels, Regina (queen). Many more allegories are there along with Padre Pio who is worth learning about.
Reading just the surface story highlights drug problems, extreme poverty, trafficking, and more. I will reread this one. Even though it sounds depressing, it is not. The story is engaging. You'll need to accustom yourself to Spanglish, the mix of some Spanish and English words as you read. It becomes easier as you go to find the meaning in context clues. ( )

Already I know not to trust one review - a person complaining about having to rack her brains and even pick up a Spanish/English dictionary once should stick to Nicholas Sparks.

Disliked this book intensely, although I was predisposed to like it since I live in New Mexico. I received it as part of the Early Reviewers program in 2007 and did review at that time. But I didn't want it to show in my library. Deleting it from my library also deleted the review, which I need to keep for the Early Reviewers Program. So I'm redoing it. I don't recommend the book, however. ( )

Before I began this novel, I was worried that it would be too action/drama-filled and that the message regarding undocumented immigrants and the dangers they face would be lost. When I began the novel, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into the rhythm of the mixed Spanish and English text. But The Guardians ended up being just right, both in plot and writing style. Definitely recommended. ( )

I did not enjoy reading this book. Despite several attempts to read I could not complete. Thought I would like it being from S. Texas but didn't. ( )