New Testaments: Stories

by Dagoberto Gilb

The lives of working class Mexican America, where everyday stories offer a portal to myth and fable.

"No one writes like Dagoberto Gilb! I loved these energetic, soulful, and hilarious stories that by the end had me wondering if I'd encountered the sublime on the page."—Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Woman of Light

This collection of eleven stories is the newest installment of an ongoing, multi-volume literary documentary project, penned by one of the contemporary legends of Chicanx literature. Dagoberto Gilb's cast of characters includes a young family whose exposure to a mysterious cloud of gas alters their lives forever; a high school dropout whose choice to learn the ways of the world from the adults at work in his uncle’s industrial laundry leads him into a dangerous dalliance;  a former high-rise union carpenter who agrees to meet up with an eager old flame; an aging Chicano, living alone, whose children watch over him for signs of decline; and more.

These are stories about working class people who come and go mostly unnoticed or ignored, whose lives are not fodder for literary tropes or cliches. They are neither heroes nor villains, just regular people with their flaws and merits, facing the challenges and questions posed by everyday life. Gilb writes in a distinctive, appealing voice, welcoming the reader in with an easy sense of familiarity, and the effect is spare on the surface, but profound. Deftly capturing the nuances of interpersonal relationships in a simple word or gesture, he peels back the surface of seemingly unremarkable encounters to reveal layers of myth and uncanny surrealism, propelled by the momentum of new, changing times.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Contemporary

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2024

About the author

Dagoberto Gilb was born in the city of Los Angeles, his mother a Mexican who crossed the border illegally, and his father a Spanish-speaking Anglo raised in East Los Angeles. They divorced before he began kindergarten. He attended several junior colleges until he transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied philosophy and religion and graduated with both bachelor'
s and master's degrees. After that, he began his life as a construction worker, migrating back and forth from Los Angeles and El Paso. A father, he eventually joined the union in Los Angeles; a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, he became a class-A journeyman carpenter, and his employment for the next twelve years was on high-rise buildings.

Reviews

[Emily]

First book towards my 2025 reading goal of checking out more short stories and novellas (I've gotten a ton of recommendations!). I liked how these felt like very literally slice of life stories; you got a brief window into a person's life and ended up being able to kind of mentally fill in their past and future around the time you got to spend with the character. Still, I'm feeling like I need to stretch my short story reading muscles to really appreciate them, glad I've set this goal for myself to dig into the format.

[Francisco Manuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dagoberto Gilb has long been one of the most distinctive voices in American literature. He often captures—and illuminates—the grit, humor, and quiet intensity of working-class Latinos living in the Southwest. His earlier collections—The Magic of Blood, Woodcuts of Women, and Before the End, After the Beginning—are filled with raw, unforgettable characters and moments of emotional resonance that arrive without warning. New Testaments, while containing flashes of Gilb’s trademark power, doesn’t consistently reach the same narrative heights. These eleven stories often explore themes of surrender, aging, and hidden pain. These are narratives in which letting go becomes a kind of salvation. Gilb’s prose remains spare and deeply lived-in, but this collection feels more restrained, more meditative—sometimes to a fault.

That said, the final story, “Peking Duck,” is a standout. Hemingwayesque in the best sense. It’s a masterclass in understated storytelling. Beneath its calm surface roils a whole history—personal, familial, even political. New Testaments may not be Gilb’s strongest work, but it’s a quietly affecting volume.

[Cathy Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing collection from the peerless Dagoberto Gilb is not to be missed. With his incisive eye and cutting prose, he illuminates humanity in these fictional portraits. Highly recommended!

[Neila Ervina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book at the iconic City Lights Bookstore in SF this summer. I wanted to read something that captured the Latin side of California I had experienced during my holidays, and I must say it certainly met my expectations in that sense. However, I found myself wishing the narrative flowed more smoothly and the stories were a bit more engaging.

After reading other reviews on the author, I realized this might not have been the best choice as an introduction to his work.

[David Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short fiction collection by a master of the form

[Jay Koester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dagoberto is back! Really engaging collection of short stories.