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Those Oldies But Goodies
Follow this young adult when he is released from the California Youth Authority. Read and find that he marries and only finds sadness and hurt. Go with him as he becomes a businessman and at the same time toys with organized crime.
259 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 3, 2009
The genre of Those Oldies but Goodies is reality. I chose to read this book because it takes place here in San Jose and because my friend recommended it to me. The main character in this book is Art Rodriguez. Art is a nineteen year old guy who comes from a Mexican/American family and is born and raised in San Jose. He has two brothers and a sister, whom he loves and takes care for. Art’s father is harsh and strict in the way he raises him, but he has an understanding mother who cares for her kids and always looks out for their well being. He also has a lot of friends that are always willing to do anything to have fun, even if it means getting in trouble. Later on his family and friends play important roles in his life. Art faces himself with many obstacles and turbulent times. An unstable home, drugs, alcohol use, and being imprisoned contribute too many of his falls. After coming out of the California Youth Authority Jail he is determined to be a better person. But his friends influence him to drink and get into fights, which he knows can bring him more problems. Art marries his sweetheart at a very young age and later realizes that marriage was something he should have considered and waited more for; so later he could have avoided the heartache. During these periods of his life he struggles to gain control and does everything that is in his hands to maintain his marriage and a stable family. He also deals with organized crime in his life, but he endures and all the difficulties help him become stronger and more experienced in life.
There are two central conflicts in this book; Man Vs. Self and Man Vs. society. In Man Vs. Self the main character here strives to overcome all the tragedies and hardships through out his entire life and finds that he is fighting with himself and feelings to not lose hope and give up. In Man Vs. Society Art is living in a time where there is a lot of crime and he knows that for his best he must try and stay away from it all. Now he is not just doing it for himself but as well for his family. This is one of his quotes where he states how much he cares for his kids and how he doesn’t want to make anymore mistakes that can affect his son’s lives
“One thing I knew, I would never leave my boys. I wanted to be there for them all their lives.” (Rodriguez, 156)
Keeping away from any type of crime activity is really hard for Art because he has been around it all his life and his friends and family have as well. The literary device used by the author here is flashbacks. Throughout the book the author talks and writes in present but also goes back in time. He talks about many things in his past that help us understand and relate what is happening now in his present. The theme in Those Oldies but Goodies is that when you have loved ones you learn to sacrifice and give up everything, even yourself for them. Art self sacrifices his man hood and dignity and develops great growth into parenthood.
Art Rodriguez writing style in this book is really down to Earth. And is very understandable. He uses a variety of slang words but also talks in an educated manner. Art Rodriguez writes his book in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading on until the end of the book. His life stories come from his heart making them really easy for the reader to connect and relate to his life. I would certainly recommend this book to others especially to young adults because it demonstrates that even through hardships, obstacles faced, and failures we should never lose hope and we should always pull ourselves through and live on with our lives.
There are two central conflicts in this book; Man Vs. Self and Man Vs. society. In Man Vs. Self the main character here strives to overcome all the tragedies and hardships through out his entire life and finds that he is fighting with himself and feelings to not lose hope and give up. In Man Vs. Society Art is living in a time where there is a lot of crime and he knows that for his best he must try and stay away from it all. Now he is not just doing it for himself but as well for his family. This is one of his quotes where he states how much he cares for his kids and how he doesn’t want to make anymore mistakes that can affect his son’s lives
“One thing I knew, I would never leave my boys. I wanted to be there for them all their lives.” (Rodriguez, 156)
Keeping away from any type of crime activity is really hard for Art because he has been around it all his life and his friends and family have as well. The literary device used by the author here is flashbacks. Throughout the book the author talks and writes in present but also goes back in time. He talks about many things in his past that help us understand and relate what is happening now in his present. The theme in Those Oldies but Goodies is that when you have loved ones you learn to sacrifice and give up everything, even yourself for them. Art self sacrifices his man hood and dignity and develops great growth into parenthood.
Art Rodriguez writing style in this book is really down to Earth. And is very understandable. He uses a variety of slang words but also talks in an educated manner. Art Rodriguez writes his book in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading on until the end of the book. His life stories come from his heart making them really easy for the reader to connect and relate to his life. I would certainly recommend this book to others especially to young adults because it demonstrates that even through hardships, obstacles faced, and failures we should never lose hope and we should always pull ourselves through and live on with our lives.
March 3, 2011
This book was an autobiography. I chose this book because I read a different book by the same author, so I thought this one would be good also. This book is basically about this guy who lives in San Jose and grew up here. His name is Art Rodriguez. He goes through a lot before he is even eighteen. He tries to be a good kid, even as an adult he struggles to be make the right decisions for himself.
In my opinion this book was both man versus self and man versus society. I chose this because both himself and his society had an effect on the choices he made and the person he became. He was fighting with himself to be a better person because of the surroundings he was placed in from the time he was little until the time he grew up. To me the theme is making the best out of the situations you are placed in. We don’t ask to be placed in situations or environments most times. This author showed how you can be in bad situations and still find a way to get through it and better yourself from it. This is something I can absolutely relate to. The author didn’t seem to use ant literary devices.
The authors writing style is very vivid. He describes situations in great detail. Everything he explained I could see in my head. I thought the book was very good. It was a story I could relate to, it held my attention the whole time. It was also very easy to read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone it was a good book.
In my opinion this book was both man versus self and man versus society. I chose this because both himself and his society had an effect on the choices he made and the person he became. He was fighting with himself to be a better person because of the surroundings he was placed in from the time he was little until the time he grew up. To me the theme is making the best out of the situations you are placed in. We don’t ask to be placed in situations or environments most times. This author showed how you can be in bad situations and still find a way to get through it and better yourself from it. This is something I can absolutely relate to. The author didn’t seem to use ant literary devices.
The authors writing style is very vivid. He describes situations in great detail. Everything he explained I could see in my head. I thought the book was very good. It was a story I could relate to, it held my attention the whole time. It was also very easy to read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone it was a good book.
April 8, 2015
I think that this book was amazingly great and really interesting through Art Rodriguez's experiences in life! This true story book made me realize many lessons in life and what is best for me and my life. I found that this book will bring alot of interest and feelings for the characters lifes and experiences. I am willing to reread this book many more times based on my feelings i have or maintain on tis book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews