Denver, 15 jun (EFE).- La novela de Tim Hernández, "Breathing, In Dust", recrea el mundo sórdido en el que viven los inmigrantes que trabajan la tierra en California. Galardonada con el premio Aztlán, la novela es un relato de violencia y supervivencia, de pobreza y esperanza, que retrata los retos de las familias que cosechan una de los tierras más fértiles del país y cuyas vidas, paradójicamente, están marcadas por el hambre y la necesidad. "Breathing" se centra en torno a la vida en Catela, un pueblo imaginado que contiene todos los detalles reconocibles de muchos otros como éste. La novela está compuesta por 20 historias cortas entrelazadas mediante las cuales llegamos a conocer a los personajes que habitan Catela. Por medio de Tlaloc (o Loc) el personaje principal conocemos a un grupo de jóvenes que se las arregla para sobrevivir en un entorno difícil, de pobreza y violencia. Es un mundo sórdido en el que crecen estos chicos, rodeados de drogas, padres ausentes, persecución, alcoholismo, pero también belleza y poesía. Hernández creció en el valle de San Joaquín en el seno de una familia inmigrante. Sus recuerdos de infancia están llenos de historia
This week's focus is Tim Hernandez, poet, performer, and novelist. Tim is the recipient of several awards including the American Book Award for his poetry collection Skin Tax, the Zora Neale Hurston Award, and the James Duval Phelan Award from the San Francisco Foundation. Tim's interview follows my review of his outstanding novel, Breathing, In Dust, now available through Texas Tech University Press. Tim is one of those "writers to watch."
By: Manuel Ramos,
on 6/17/2010
Blog: La Bloga
(Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Tim Z. Hernandez, In Dust, Breathing, Add a tag
Tim Z. Hernandez
Texas Tech University Press, 2010
Tim Z. Hernandez is the latest writer I have read whose promise is obvious, whose talent is rich, and whose honest and unflinching debut novel, Breathing, In Dust, deserves a wide-readership and critical attention.
Hernandez comes from the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. His book is set in a fictionalized reflection of that land. Say “San Joaquin Valley” and we may reference Fresno, may understand the Steinbeck connection, and we most likely accept the importance of agriculture to the image of the Valley, one of the “breadbaskets of America.” Those of us not from this Valley may imagine verdant, massive farms; a hazy summer country life; a small-town American ideal. But Hernandez reveals an unfamiliar, hidden Valley. The people of Catela, the primary setting for the book, are swimming against the stream, drowning in day-to-day survival struggles, and losing the battle. Tim Hernandez gives his readers the heart of the American dream suffering from a weak and erratic pulse.
The San Joaquin Valley is plagued with poverty. For example, according to a 2009 article in the Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal, written by Lloyd G. Carter, the Twentieth Congressional District, which includes a portion of the western San Joaquin Valley down through Kings and Kern counties, has the “dubious distinction of being the poorest of the 436 congressional districts in America. The region is rife with social problems ranging from high unemployment to gang and drug problems, high teen-pregnanc
new posts in all blogs
By: Lydia Gil,
on 6/15/2011
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Breathing, In Dust, Tim Hernandez, Add a tag
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: In Dust, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 2 of 2
By: Lydia Gil,
on 6/15/2011
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Breathing, In Dust, Tim Hernandez, Add a tag
0 Comments on Violencia y belleza en novela de Tim Hernández as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
Review
Breathing, In Dust
I have been an avid reader for more than fifty years and yet I continue to be amazed by the power of the written word. I can still be overwhelmed by the well-crafted paragraph that deserves multiple readings; or by a patch of gritty dialog that echoes conversations I remember distinctly; or by a descriptive phrase that manages to convey place, emotion and character, all at the same time. Reading occupies my mind like few other experiences, and to this day I am grateful for the subtle encouragement from parents and grandparents to read and exercise my brain. My reading is made all the more enjoyable when I know that the writer only recently set off on her or his literary journey and so the expectations are high. The promise of future excellent reading has been renewed – the world is better.
0 Comments on Tim Z. Hernandez as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment