MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 02867nam a22003258a 4500
001 2012018732
003 DLC
005 20120514112923.0
008 120514s2012 ctu 000 0 eng
010 $a 2012018732
020 $a9780762779192 (pbk.)
040 $aDLC$cDLC
042 $apcc
043 $an-us---
050 00 $aPN4874.M4827$bA3 2011
082 00 $a070.92$aB$223
084 $aBIO000000$aBIO007000$aBIO026000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aMartinez, Domingo.
245 14 $aThe boy kings of Texas :$ba memoir /$cDomingo Martinez.
260 $aGuilford, Conn. :$bLyons Press,$c2012.
263 $a1207
300 $ap. cm.
520 $a"Domingo Martinez lays bare his interior and exterior worlds as he struggles to make sense of the violent and the ugly, along with the beautiful and the loving. Partly a reflection on the culture of machismo and partly an exploration of the author's boyhood spent in his sister's hand-me-down clothes, this book delves into the enduring and complex bond between Martinez and his deeply flawed, but fiercely protective older brother. It features a cast of memorable characters, including his gun-hoarding, former farmhand Gramma and "The Mimi's," two of his older sisters who for a short, glorious time, manage to transform themselves from poor Latina adolescents into upper-class white girls. Martinez delves into the complicated relationships between extended family and the inner conflicts that result when the desire to Americanize clashes with the inherent need to defend one's manhood in an aggressive, archaic patriarchal farming culture. He provides a real glimpse into a society where children are traded like commerce, physical altercations routinely solve problems, drugs are rampant, sex is often crude, and people depend on the family witch doctor for advice. Charming, painful, and enlightening, it examines the traumas and pleasures of growing up in South Texas, and the often terrible consequences when two very different cultures collide on the banks of a dying river"--$cProvided by publisher.
520 $a"A lyrical and authentic book that recounts the story of a border-town family in Brownsville, Texas in the 1980's, as each member of the family desperately tries to assimilate and escape life on the border to become "real" Americans, even at the expense of their shared family history. This is really un-mined territory in the memoir genre that gives in-depth insight into a previously unexplored corner of America"--$cProvided by publisher.
600 10 $aMartinez, Domingo$xChildhood and youth.
650 0 $aJournalists$zUnited States$vBiography.
650 0 $aMexican Americans$zTexas, South$vBiography.
650 7 $aBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs.$2bisacsh