River of Angels

by Alejandro Morales

The West was a place where dreams could come true, and in this epic novel Alejandro Morales introduces two very different families and an unpredictable river to explore the allure of Southern California and the development of Los Angeles. Although the Rivers and Kellers families come from different backgrounds—ethnic, class and linguistic—their lives and fortunes become inextricably linked through their children. An illicit love affair leads to tragedy as the families are victims of racism and the pseudo-scientific philosophy of eugenics, or selective breeding, proposed by those fearful of Los Angeles’ diverse population in the 1920s.River of Angels is a richly detailed look at the people who lived on both sides of the river that separated the haves from the have-nots, from the mystical and forgotten Native Americans and their mixed-blood Latino descendants to the opportunity-seeking Yankees and the African, Mexican and Asian migrants. Acclaimed novelist Alejandro Morales excavates the layered history of Los Angeles in this stirring epic of love, loss and redemption.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2013

Reviews

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex is invited to the Los Angeles Central Library to hear a famous author. Uncomfortable with the crowd Alex decides to explore, and is enthralled by photos from the 1930’s showing the construction of the city’s bridges. Lost in the faces of the Mexican workers, the present fades away and is replaced with the past world of the city of Los Angeles where Abelardo Ríos and his wife Toypurina live at their home bordering El Río de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de la Porciúncula (the Los Angeles River) in 1882. Read the rest of the review on my blog (are you following my blog?): http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...