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Loading... The Rain God (edition 1984)by Arturo ISLAS
Work InformationThe Rain God by Arturo Islas
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This was assigned reading for a course, and was a follow up to Faulkner's family saga GO DOWN, MOSES. It was infinitely easier to read (sorry, Faulkner!) and easier to track the family members and associations. At first, getting used to the very natural (but sometimes confusing) flow of information was tricky, but once immersed in the author's style... I found it very easy to go along with it. The story is wrenching, in parts. It is about family, what they do for and to each other, and the prejudices that are cultivated within families - and how those play out in its members. I'm certainly curious to read the next book. Islas intended it to be a trilogy, but sadly died before the third book was completed. Nonetheless, an overall enjoyable read with some very deep rooted issues worth consideration and exploration. no reviews | add a review
"The Rain God is a lost masterpiece that helped launch a legion of writers. Its return, in times like these, is a plot twist that perhaps only Arturo Islas himself could have conjured. May it win many new readers." -- Luis Alberto Urrea, bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels and The Hummingbird's Daughter "Rivers, rivulets, fountains and waters flow, but never return to their joyful beginnings; anxiously they hasten on to the vast realms of the Rain God." A beloved Southwestern classic--as beautiful, subtle and profound as the desert itself--Arturo Islas's The Rain God is a breathtaking masterwork of contemporary literature. Set in a fictional small town on the Texas-Mexico border, it tells the funny, sad and quietly outrageous saga of the children and grandchildren of Mama Chona the indomitable matriarch of the Angel clan who fled the bullets and blood of the 1911 revolution for a gringo land of promise. In bold creative strokes, Islas paints on unforgettable family portrait of souls haunted by ghosts and madness--sinners torn by loves, lusts and dangerous desires. From gentle hearts plagued by violence and epic delusions to a child who con foretell the coming of rain in the sweet scent of angels, here is a rich and poignant tale of outcasts struggling to live and die with dignity . . . and to hold onto their past while embracing an unsteady future. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The Rain God by Arturo Islas is a family saga of a Mexican family escaping the 1911 revolution to the United States. Mr. Islas was an English professor who focused on the Chicano cultural experience, he passed away in 1991.
The Angel family is living on the border of Texas and Mexico. They are trying to assimilate themselves without losing their Mexican identity. Through personal triumph and tragedy, the family experiences life, love, and lost.
Even though The Rain God by Arturo Islas is short, it is very complex and layered. I don’t remember where I got the idea to read it, it could have been mentioned in one of the books I’ve read, or an on-line article – nevertheless, I’m glad I found it.
Frankly, this book should be more well known.
The core of this book is family dynamics, which doesn’t always mean blood relations. There are friends who are considered as much as a family as anyone else. This is especially true when you are in an immigrant community in a small town.
Attempting assimilation and hate crimes are part of life in this book. Sadly it’s not just the experience of the Mexican community so these themes, and others, can certainly be transposed to other communities.
I was especially fascinated by complicated relationships the family has with its past and its identity. One of the characters, a police officer, lives a dual life. On the one hand he is trying to be a part of the police force, on the other some of his family sees him as a coward for not taking revenge on a murder.
This type of dual experiences is not uncommon among many immigrants regardless of a place of origin.
The author shows the duality and hypocrisy of religion. The family are, mostly, devout Catholics but do not shy away from “spirits”, as well as affairs. My only conclusion is that he tried to show us how the Mexican culture, or the macho Latin mindset, can encompass two contradictory beliefs, and truly believe them.
Again, not just a Mexican/Latin ability as we can see around the world. ( )