Into the Beautiful North

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea is a tongue-in-cheek road novel about a group of young Mexican women and their gay friend who, inspired by the movie “the Magnificent Seven”, head into the United States on a quest to bring back seven Mexican men to help defend their small town against the bandidos who are planning to take over.

Since most of their men have gone to America to look for work and then never returned, their town has become a town of women and nineteen year old Nayeli and her three friends, Yolo, Vampi and Tacho see a very dismal future with no men in their lives. They set off full of hope and even the set-backs that they experience along the way does not dim Nayeli’s spirits or purpose.

I was surprised by show more this rather light-hearted look at the complex issues that surround the border between Mexico and the United States, expecting a much more serious story. But the author’s detailed descriptions, strong characters and vivid narrative made this an uplifting road-trip story that both touches the heart and the funny-bone. show less

This was an unexpected surprise. Novels about the American/Mexican border tend to be about violence and generally have a grim atmosphere. I read quite a few of those lately. However, this novel by Luis Alberto Urrea is written in a completely different tone, even though it also deals with crossing the border. It was actually very funny and made me laugh out loud several times. It is written as if it is a movie, actually, it would be great if someone did make a movie out of this.
The story deals with 19-year-old Nayeli, a tough girl who loves movies, is good at karate and who has lived in a Mexican village all her life. Most of the village men have left to work in the USA and some annoying drug dealers are threatening to take over the show more village. Inspired by the movie The Magnificent Seven Nayeli makes a plan to go to the USA and collect seven Mexican men there to come back to the village with her. This is the start of a wild adventure with some wild and endearing characters. What I really liked about this novel is that it doesn't stereotype Mexican people, as tends to happen lately, especially in political discourse. The characters in the novel are unique, diverse and personal. It actually makes fun of stereotypes. I truly enjoyed reading this. show less

Nayeli and her friends travel to the United States in search of men to help protect their Mexican village from the criminals who plan to overtake it. Most of the men who lived in her village have migrated to the United States to work, leaving behind a village occupied by women, children, and elderly men. They lack any line of defense.

Nayeli also hopes to find her father, and return with him so that her family will be together again. They encounter many obstacles as they attempt to illegally cross the border, but Nayeli is always there to motivate her group of friends to keep going.

I adored this book. It is a story of hope, bravery, and perseverance. While parts induced laughter others brought forth tears. A dramatic plot with well show more timed moments of comic relief. Creative characters that you can’t help but to sympathize with and cheer for. I can see myself reading this one again and again. Nayeli was an amazing character, and I envied her strength of character. An extraordinary tale, I highly recommend.

I’m pretty sure this is aimed at an adult audience, but I think older teens would appreciate it as well. show less

This was my final choice for my summer book club. I chose it because it seemed so unusual and different and I suspected that it would inspire some fabulous conversation. That might have been the case but I had to miss the meeting because of a little thing called my daughter's dance tryouts. Would that I could have been with friends discussing this charming, well-written novel instead!

Nayeli is a young woman who works in a taqueria in Tres Camarones, a coastal village in Mexico too poor to be of interest to most people, attacting a few surfers occasionally. But then the village's remoteness and its lack of men (almost all of whom have gone north to the US) makes it appealing to those involved in the drug trade. With the help of two show more friends and her entertaining and spunky aunt Irma, Tres Camarones' new mayor, Nayeli concocts a plan to reclaim the village from the criminals. After seeing the movie The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli knows she must go to the US and find seven men to come back to Tres Camarones and defend the people. But this quest is more than just a public service to her village, Nayeli hopes to find her father who has long since disappeared into the US and to bring him home where he belongs.

When Nayeli and her two friends set off on their noble quest, the story really starts cooking along. The girls' travels through Mexico are vivid and not uneventful. After all, what is a noble quest without windmills to overcome? Unfortunately for the girls, the windmills are very often not of their imagining but instead real obstacles to their goal. Getting into the US is not easy and the irony of the matter is that once they are there as illegal immigrants, it will also be illegal for them to try and get back into Mexico. But first they must find seven men who are willing to return with them and then to take back their town.

The characters in the book are vividly written and just plain fun. They are real and entertaining and funny and a delight to spend time reading about. The tone of the book stays fairly light despite the deep and heavy themes of perseverance, illegal immigration, discrimination, poverty, and bravery. But it is this very lightness that allows the reader to think clearly about these loaded political and emotional issues. There is humor galore here and I read much of the book with a smile. Nayeli's strength is apparent to all but herself and she is a totally engaging and appealing main character. A well-constructed, beautifully paced novel, this is a great reading group choice, the adventure and the balanced look at life for illegals in the US make it eminently discussable as well. Because I already know you'll enjoy reading it. show less

This story begins in the sleepy, remote Mexican coastal village of Tres Camarones, where most of the men have left to get work in the United States. Life is disrupted by the arrival of armed bandidos. And as apparently often the case in Mexico, the bandidos are corrupt law enforcement officials. The village is ripe for their nefarious plucking because nearly all of the men have left to seek their fortunes in El Norte, across the American border.

One of the women of the village, nineteen year old ex-soccer star Nayeli, decides that it is necessary to find some men to come live in the village and protect them. She is inspired by the film, "The Magnificent Seven," and its star, Yul Brynner, whom the ladies believe is Mexico’s greatest show more actor because of the perfect Spanish he speaks in the dubbed version of the movie. ["The Magnificent Seven" is a 1960 American western film about a group of hired gunmen protecting a Mexican village from bandits. It is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film, "Seven Samurai."] Nayeli convinces two of her girl friends and one gay restaurateur to accompany her on a quest to recruit seven Mexican he-men, preferably soldiers or former police, from north of the border to return to Mexico and save the village from the pillaging bandidos. Nayeli also has a hidden agenda to find her father, who left the family long ago and now lives in Kankakee, Illinois.

The little band encounters many dangers and barriers to travel, the worst of which are in Mexico in the form of corrupt officialdom. They finally cross the border at Tijuana, but are apprehended and returned to Mexico by the U.S. Border Patrol. Only after they are befriended by an experienced drug smuggler are they able to effect a safe crossing through a secret tunnel.

Their adventures continue in the States, where they are subjected to substantial discrimination, but ultimately they recruit many men willing to return to Mexico. First, however, Nayeli must complete her own private mission. She is able to borrow an old car from a former missionary who had once worked in Tres Camarones, and sets out on a cross-country trip to Kankakee to find her father. It is a tribute to Urrea’s prose that he depicts the long car ride in two short chapters, yet gives a wonderful overview of most of the western two-thirds of the United States. In Kankakee she meets people who are genuinely friendly and helpful to “illegals” like her, and she finds out what happened to her father.

Discussion: Urrea’s ear for Spanglish is acute. He is able to create a dialog that sounds very much like the mixed Spanish and English conversation of Mexican immigrants in Tucson. His short remarks and common words are Spanish slang, which takes a little getting used to, but the over-all effect is convincing. He uses clear English to convey more complicated conversation, so that single-language Americans need not consult their Spanish dictionaries very often.

The secondary characters are Dickensian in their eccentricity, and it would make the review over long to do them justice. Suffice to say that they are nearly always amusing and often hilarious.

Evaluation: Urrea offers perspicuous insights into the living conditions, aspirations, and perceptions of the undocumented aliens. I highly recommend this book. show less

Into the Beautiful North opens in Tres Camarones, a dying Mexican village. Most of the men have left to pursue work elsewhere -- including 19-year-old Nayeli’s father, who disappeared long ago to Kankakee, near Chicago in the United States. Now, prompted by bandits who increasingly target her village and by the film, The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli organizes two girlfriends and her gay taco-shop boss on a quest to cross the border into the US and round up some virile men -- maybe even her father? -- to bring back to defend -- and re-populate :) -- the town.

The early chapters are an engaging and funny introduction to the village and its likeable residents. A sense of magic and a sprinkling of Spanish evoke Mexico, accompanied by brutal show more depictions of poverty and lawlessness and intriguing perspectives on US culture. About a third in, the narrative turns somewhat skeletal, as though the novel has been sketched but not fully written. About two-thirds in, the quest turns into a road-trip travelogue that continues until the characters are “weeping with boredom and despair” -- and so was I, a little bit :) Still, now that I’ve seen how beautifully and light-heartedly Urrea can write, I'm eager to read The Hummingbird’s Daughter. show less

"The bandidos came to the village at the worst possible time. Of course, everyone in Mexico would agree that there is no particularly good time for bad men to come to town. But Tres Camerones was unguarded on that late summer's day when so many things had already changed. And everything that remained was about to change forever."

So begins [Into the Beautiful North], a novel about Tres Camerones, a village that is being threatened by drug trafficking. Nayeli, a nineteen-year-old who works at a taco shop, is concerned. Many men, including Nayeli's father, have left the village to go the U.S. When Nayeli's Aunt Irma is elected mayor of Tres Camerones, Nayeli decides to take matters into her own hands. Inspired by The Magnificent Seven, show more Nayeli and three friends head to the U.S. to bring back seven men to protect the village.

Despite the seriousness of the issues at the heart of this novel, Urrea brings humor to every page. Nayeli herself is a compelling heroine. Although she and her friends face barriers and prejudice, they also find people who give them a paltry but shared meal, a place to stay, a sweatshirt, a ride to the bus station. The collection of supporting characters leaps off the pages. In the end, Urrea doesn't provide Nayeli with any easy outs. Instead, he has created a character who survives by her own wits. show less