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Chicana & Chicano Visions of the Américas
Randy Lopez Goes Home
When he was a young man, Randy Lopez left his village in northern New Mexico to seek his fortune. Since then, he has learned some of the secrets of success in the Anglo world—and even written a book called Life Among the Gringos. But something has been missing. Now he returns to Agua Bendita to reconnect with his past and to find the wisdom the Anglo world has not provided. In this allegorical account of Randy's final journey, master storyteller Rudolfo Anaya tackles life's big questions with a light touch.
Randy's entry into the haunted canyon that leads to his ancestral home begins on the Day of the Dead. Reuniting with his padrinos—his godparents—and hoping to meet up with his lost love, Sofia, Randy encounters a series of spirits: coyotes, cowboys, Death, and the devil. Each one engages him in a conversation about life. It is Randy's old teacher Miss Libriana who suggests his new purpose. She gives him a book, How to Build a Bridge. Only the bridge—which is both literal and figurative, like everything else in this story—can enable Randy to complete his journey.
Readers acquainted with Anaya's fiction will find themselves in familiar territory here. Randy Lopez, like all Anaya's protagonists, is on a spiritual quest. But both those new to and familiar with Anaya will recognize this philosophical meditation as part of a long literary tradition going back to Homer, Dante, and the Bible. Richly allusive and uniquely witty, Randy Lopez Goes Home presents man's quest for meaning in a touching, thought-provoking narrative that will resound with young adults and mature readers alike.
Randy's entry into the haunted canyon that leads to his ancestral home begins on the Day of the Dead. Reuniting with his padrinos—his godparents—and hoping to meet up with his lost love, Sofia, Randy encounters a series of spirits: coyotes, cowboys, Death, and the devil. Each one engages him in a conversation about life. It is Randy's old teacher Miss Libriana who suggests his new purpose. She gives him a book, How to Build a Bridge. Only the bridge—which is both literal and figurative, like everything else in this story—can enable Randy to complete his journey.
Readers acquainted with Anaya's fiction will find themselves in familiar territory here. Randy Lopez, like all Anaya's protagonists, is on a spiritual quest. But both those new to and familiar with Anaya will recognize this philosophical meditation as part of a long literary tradition going back to Homer, Dante, and the Bible. Richly allusive and uniquely witty, Randy Lopez Goes Home presents man's quest for meaning in a touching, thought-provoking narrative that will resound with young adults and mature readers alike.
- GenresFiction
166 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 10, 2011
A very quick, but moving read from one of my favorite authors. Randy Lopez has come home to his hometown of Agua Bendita on a quest for his roots. As he travels up the canyon into the heart of town he meets a variety of characters all with their own philosophies on finding the importance in your life. It takes only a chapter to realize that by "going home" Randy has actually reached the end of his life, and the town he is traveling through it really like Purgatory. An increadibly philosophical book about the finding your purpose in life.
August 31, 2011
Rudolfo Anaya’s 'Randy Lopez Goes Home' (2011) is the latest book by one of the greatest American writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Chicana & Chicano Visions of the Americans Book Series, which I edit for the OU Press, has published this latest Anaya novel, and as numerous reviewers are noting, this book is Anaya at the height of his powers. I eagerly invite you to take a look at this brilliant and engaging book. To purchase the book, visit: http://www.oupress.com/ECommerce/Book....
January 20, 2015
This book is a short but packed allegorical novel with almost every sentence referring to a wide swath of mythological, historical, or literary themes and archetypes yet, at the same time, being grounded in real specifics of New Mexican culture. Hard to describe really. A seemingly simple story about returning to one's hometown and crossing a local river, yet far more than that--life, death, eternity, love, evil,pomegranates and Oso the multilingual dachshund.
I finished it in one day, but may return to it sometime to think about some of the profoundly compact sentences.
I finished it in one day, but may return to it sometime to think about some of the profoundly compact sentences.
August 27, 2011
wasn't what i expected after hearing the npr interview... but i liked it all the same!
January 1, 2022
I have always wished I could write like Rudolfo Anaya. Randy Lopez Goes Home was recommended by a friend. This is one of those rare books: short, easy to read, but full of deep meanings. Upon finishing it, I almost don't want to start another book. I want the peaceful, positive feeling to stay with me for many days. The allegorical story includes philosophy, spirituality, contemplation on cultural assimilation, humor (a village leader is named Todospedo, Ungrateful dead referred to by la Muerte), a strong sense of New Mexico's unique Hispanic culture, a sense that you can't ever go home again. There is, as always, Anaya's ever-present magical realism. Definitely Rudolfo Anaya at his best.
Some lovely quotes from the book;
During the dark nights of the soul, life is barely worth living. Waves of despair suffocate both flesh and soul. No amount of thrashing or kicking or complaining will help. One only seems to sink deeper, just as Randy found himself sinking in the river.
But there is hope. Somehow the human spirit rebounds and finds a sliver of hope. No matter how far one sinks, the will to survive shines through. I can do it! the person cries. !Sí, se puede! Randy thought. I will not be victim to circumstances!
Memoria is a constant guest. She can create the most pleasant fantasies or she can be muy cabrona. When she stirs the soul, !ni modo! Images flood the mind's eye! Wild as untamed horses! No one can control the images of Memoria.
The process of becoming requires constant repair.
Some lovely quotes from the book;
During the dark nights of the soul, life is barely worth living. Waves of despair suffocate both flesh and soul. No amount of thrashing or kicking or complaining will help. One only seems to sink deeper, just as Randy found himself sinking in the river.
But there is hope. Somehow the human spirit rebounds and finds a sliver of hope. No matter how far one sinks, the will to survive shines through. I can do it! the person cries. !Sí, se puede! Randy thought. I will not be victim to circumstances!
Memoria is a constant guest. She can create the most pleasant fantasies or she can be muy cabrona. When she stirs the soul, !ni modo! Images flood the mind's eye! Wild as untamed horses! No one can control the images of Memoria.
The process of becoming requires constant repair.
March 13, 2024
Take this journey, this meditation, this musing, this story with Randy Lopez. You will travel through, dream through the small town of Agua Bendita to Randy’s love, Sofia. I started the journey to better understand the people of northern New Mexico. I found a story that brought to mind a different kind of Dante’s Inferno, full of allegory about life, death, foolishness, love, kindness, greed, regret and so much more. It is surreal and worth reading. Some of the images and bits of story had no meaning for me, a gringa. Yet I am a bit closer to the profound simplicity of choosing to live with kindness and good deeds.
April 11, 2024
A beautiful allegory about the journey of life & death; the search for wisdom, home, & a place to belong. Spiritual, philosophical, & a dream-like fantasy, I adored Randy Lopez as he returned to his home village in New Mexico, a sort of modern day version of Homer's The Odyssey, only to meet strangers, friends, neighbors, death, & even the devil, hoping someone will remember him, all while also searching for his childhood love Sofia.
Lyrical, poetic, a bit heartbreaking, funny, but mostly beautiful. Rudolfo Anaya wrote Randy Lopez Goes Home as his wife lay dying of cancer, giving it an increased beauty, as it seems to be an ode to his wife & her transformation to the afterlife.
Lyrical, poetic, a bit heartbreaking, funny, but mostly beautiful. Rudolfo Anaya wrote Randy Lopez Goes Home as his wife lay dying of cancer, giving it an increased beauty, as it seems to be an ode to his wife & her transformation to the afterlife.
November 6, 2017
I think this would be a five-star book if I had gotten it, but the symbolism and allusions were all beyond my comprehension. I did understand the political statements and appreciated those. The writing was beautiful. I just prefer literal stories.
July 7, 2018
Not for me
July 13, 2018
Sr. Anaya is in a class of his own, though he channels both Garrison Keillor and Thornton Wilder in this tale of Randy's search for himself. All I'll ask is that you read it.
November 30, 2020
A slim book, but I wouldn't have minded if it were even shorter.
Read
March 21, 2022Only partial credit for reading this, because I stopped about 1/3 of the way through. Maybe when I was younger I would have enjoyed this, but I'm just not up for it now.
April 6, 2022
Allegorical mythical Hispanic Catholicism about death, culture and loss. Nicely written.
August 18, 2024
Hard to follow
July 10, 2011
This tiny book was incredibly long. I got the references, and I get the point of allegory as a genre, but goddamn, it doesn't have to be so obvious. Or described at such length. I feel like the digressions into cheesy the-world-is-beautiful-because-it-is-constantly-changing philosophy (a term I use loosely here) got longer and more obvious as the book went on. And then I read this sentence a few dozen pages from the end: "The child moved away, like a cloud without a home." What the hell is that? A cloud without a home? That's the kind of thing my intro to poetry professor would have savaged in a poem, on account of it makes no sense. It doesn't help Anaya that the sentence refers to a character who only existed for a few pages, was only known as "the innocent child," and clearly only served as a counterpoint to the horrid crap that the mayor was spewing. Lazy writing. Anyway, after I read that sentence I gave up on liking this book. I really wanted to like it. But the longer I read, the less I liked it. And then I spent a night reading I Served the King of England and remembered what good writing looked like. Nail in the coffin.
Still want to read Bless Me, Ultima. Just not any time particularly soon.
Still want to read Bless Me, Ultima. Just not any time particularly soon.
April 16, 2012
randy lopez went out into the world, got a college degree, wrote a book called "my life among the gringos" but yearns for his old home, mom, dad, the creek, baseball in the field, the river, etc etc. when he returns mom dad are dead, nobody plays anymore, no one in the little town even remembers randy, and certainly no one reads books. wft? randy searches for the "past-time" where mami made his tortillas hot and sofia was waiting under the cherry tree for him to come kiss on. so that is the question, can you go back? no you cannot. so what to do? he gets good advice and builds a bridge (with lots of help) from past, to now, to a future that you want to have. the secret to this future? be kind, help those in need, love. a light, easy read with a heavy, philosophical message.
December 12, 2012
I'm torn on how I felt about this book. Anaya conceived and wrote it on the death of his wife. It is basically the story of a man returning home after spending his life outside of his culture.
One realizes pretty quickly that this is deep in mytho-symbolic territory. Sometimes I felt all the metaphor and allegory was a bit much and I wished there was more REAL. Still, on the level of trying to make sense of death, and the ways life is led, with its choices and compromises, this was pretty good.
One realizes pretty quickly that this is deep in mytho-symbolic territory. Sometimes I felt all the metaphor and allegory was a bit much and I wished there was more REAL. Still, on the level of trying to make sense of death, and the ways life is led, with its choices and compromises, this was pretty good.
September 11, 2011
This is an awesome little book about hispanic or chicano if you prefer culture and trying to maintain your heritage while acclimating to society at large. Though set it a spiritual small town and not in the real world per say, the internal battles fought by Randy Lopez mirrors so well the day to day existance of any hispanic american living in today's society.
An excellant read!
An excellant read!
November 25, 2016
A short, provocative novel set in northern New Mexico that's reminiscent of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Mr. Anaya addresses a number of life's questions, using a never-ending cast of unusual characters, including the devil himself.
I love a story that makes me think and teaches me something while, at the same time, entertaining me. Mr. Anaya knocked it out of the park.
I love a story that makes me think and teaches me something while, at the same time, entertaining me. Mr. Anaya knocked it out of the park.
July 24, 2011
I wanted to like it. I really did. I've enjoyed other Anaya books but this just seemed "phoned in".
June 14, 2012
Light-hearted, allegorical, forward-looking, and short.
Read
May 2, 2015DNF
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews