Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa (Writing in Latinidad)
A memoir that layers immigrant labor, family rupture, and queer self-formation.
Work Information
It searches for a place to belong at the intersection of memory and identity.
Born into a Mexican migrant labor family, the author works through childhood loss, estrangement from his father, and conflict around sexuality to find himself. It is a memoir where pain and lyricism coexist.
Review Summaries
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Its emotional force and its finely judged prose are both widely praised.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Univ of Wisconsin Pr
- Published
- 2011-09-01
- Pages
- 207 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 23.04 x 15.44 x 1.19 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780299219048
- ISBN-10
- 0299219046
- Price
- 7194 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Politics & Social Sciences/Social Sciences/Specific Demographics/Gay & Lesbian
Winner of the American Book Award
Rigoberto González is the author of many award-winning books for adults and children, among them So Often the Pitcher Goes to Water until It Breaks , a selection of the National Poetry Series; the novel Crossing Vines , named the ForeWord Fiction Book of the Year; and the teen novel The Mariposa Club , named to the American Library Association&;s Rainbow List. He is a contributing editor to the magazine Poets and Writers , on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle, and on the advisory circle of Con Tinta, a coalition of Chicano/Latino activist writers. He is associate professor of English at Rutgers University at Newark. Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement, Publishing Triangle
Reviews
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A GREAT READ
Having lived in a Latino country for some time I really resonated with Butterfly Boy. Although Latino culture changes from country to country there are linking mentalities and traditions that flow through all of them. Gonzalez perfectly captures the complex nature of the Chicano- who never seems to belong to any country completely, but whose heart is undeniably Latin. This is not a book about a gay Mexican. This is a book about a Mexican American who happens to be gay, and who (often) painfully deals with the complexities and hypocrisies of his culture, his family, and his personal relationships. This is a good book for anyone interested in Latino themes, gay themes, cross cultural themes or family and personal relationships- especially troubled father/son relationships. The prose is crisp and snappy and engages you from the first page.
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Excellent Book
This book reminds me of another book, "Gypsy Boy" by Mickey Walsh. They are both about migrant workers in search of work, living communally under the dictatorship of the patriarch, where education is considered a waste of time, and always feeling like an outsider. In both books the authors as young men are gay and it is forbidden to express it in any way. In this book the migrants travel back & forth between Mexico and the US so the two brothers, as well as other family members, are of different nationalities. Since I know nothing of Mexico I was unfamiliar with many words, phrases and place names but it didn't change my understanding of the story. This is an excellent book about a culture I never thought about before and how difficult life is, especially when you stand out because you're educated, gay and motherless.
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a decent work of art -- smart, poetic
Lyrical and provocative, though at times, a bit too much self-pity for my tastes. Overall, though, a decent work of art -- smart, poetic, erotically charged. RG does a great job, in particular, of making his father come alive on the page.
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Touching and full of honesty
I enjoyed this book so much. I relate to the parental dynamics, and fully appreciate the honesty in homosexuality with the Hispanic culture. Well done and recommend to anyone looking for a real perspective on identity, race, and sexual struggles. I loved it, thank you for your story.
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Very detailed stories of the authors life
The author wrote a great book on his life and his experiences as a gay Chicano. His stories are detailed and humorous at times but at times sad or eye opening. I was very proud of his outcome from childhood to adulthood.