American Son

by Brian Ascalon Roley

A powerful novel about ethnically fluid California, and the corrosive relationship between two Filipino brothers.


"American Son is the story of two Filipino brothers adrift in contemporary California. The older brother, Tomas, fashions himself into a Mexican gangster and breeds pricey attack dogs, which he trains in German and sells to Hollywood celebrities. The narrator is younger brother Gabe, who tries to avoid the tar pit of Tomas's waywardness, yet moves ever closer to embracing it. Their mother, who moved to America to escape the caste system of Manila and is now divorced from their American father, struggles to keep her sons in line while working two dead-end jobs. When Gabe runs away, he brings shame and unforeseen consequences to the family."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Asian Literature, Contemporary, Family, Read For School, Cultural

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2001

Reviews

[Rachelle Ayala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistic and edgy portrayal. I know exactly what the two brother, Tomas and Gabe feel, and had I been a boy, I would have run with the tough guys and gotten into the trouble that boys without fathers have. I grew up in the same streets, okay, south of Watts/Compton, not Santa Monica and the nicer areas on the west side, but Harbor area, Carson, and my family did not fit in with the surrounding culture. We were the foreign ones with the weird clothes and our mother was very much like Tomas and Gabe's mother.

I completely understood the Fedco scene and later on the scene at the pharmacy when the salesgirl pointedly ignored their mother and acted like she was nonperson, the Asian mother who shies away from sales people and feels ignored and shunted aside, and people who look down on them with the broken English. My mother had a parking lot incident where a woman accused her of denting her car with a shopping cart, even though my mother was returning the cart to the holder and wasn't near her car. This woman hounded my mother and followed her home haranguing her to just pay up. They feel they can pick on the older Asian woman who speaks broken English and scare her into paying.

This story was very real for me growing up in Los Angeles and the author's descriptions are true, from the spindly rat infested palm trees to the smudgy plastic stackables (from the smog), the hazy thick Marine layer, the thin strip of beach were the airplanes take off over, and the pavement filled with tar in the cracks rather than fixed. The cultural landscape is also real, at least for people over thirty. Maybe now, younger Filipinos have more pride and nationalism, but I have friends who have Filipino mothers, but are half white and they have green eyes and light skin. Friends who claim they're Italian or hang with Mexicans. And the word Flip, that's what they used to say before Pinoy, even when referring to themselves.

I did get this story and enjoyed it. The brothers really did love their mother but showed it differently. Tomas with gifts and Gabe by being there. And at the end, they stood up for her the only way they knew how, and even though the story had no real ending, it is realistic for literary fiction and I appreciate that the author did not foist an unrealistic sappy happy ending when life is not that way.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Secondhand cringed the whole way through I needed to pee rlly badly as soon as I finished as well which I think is my body’s way of expelling the extremely derivative Asian American narrative toxins I ingested during the reading process

[Ruby Ceron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has become one of my top favorite books. So much happens throughout the book and there are many good scenes with a lot of action. I wish the book gave more of Tomas' POV rater than just Gabe, because I think that we had a lot more to know from Tomas that Gabe didn't mention. I didn't like that the ending was kind of rushed and it could've kept going rather than just leaving us at that final scene. Besides that the book was very entertaining and it never made me feel like I wanted to just stop reading half way through the story.

[Favian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but didnt like how the book ended.

[Omar]

i liked this book but i dint really like the characters gabe is wimp thomas is very rude to his family and later he treats them well and ika is a very shy person she is very humble and quiet and to does not stand up for herself well i did also like the story but the ending was so boring nothing really happened it like one of those ride off into the sunset type endings. the book was ight

[Matthew Armah]

The book american son was interesting to me to say the least. It's a coming of age story but its not your typical story. I like that the book deals with many forms of oppression and doesn't try to sugar coat it. The book also has a wide range of characters with varying personalities some more alike than others.

[Sherlin Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book also made me very mad because of the internal oppression and in a few occasions the racism. The mom acted very dumb like she can't set her foot down and got walked over. She could have done a lot more for her children but decided and chose to let them keep steering the wrong way

[Ahtziri Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this book a 3 out of 5. It was an okay book. I wouldn’t reread it or recommend it to someone. I felt that this book would have been better if it was from Tomas point of view.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book as a whole was interesting mostly because of the relationships between the family and certain conflicts in the book made the story more interesting besides the ending the book was alright.

[Jubilee Kaleikau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally think that this book does a great job at really capturing the modern immigrant experience, as well as themes of alienation and abuse. Although I am not much one for long, descriptive writing styles, I'd give credit to the author for bringing together the expressive and visual aspect of the story. The characters were very well written, a mix of both complex and simple to understand when analyzing how the characters contribute to the story's themes, which is something I enjoyed studying. One thing that brought my rating down a bit was how the book would go through intervals of being very interesting and engaging for me, and then being somewhat boring, describing scenes and minor characters that weren't as relevant and creates that feeling that the author was just writing filler moments.

[Vinay Khosla · Rating 2 out of 5]

POV ur derivative…like ok…

[Maria Arechiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because I liked it but I didn't like the ending. I think that it would've been more interesting if it also had Tomas's point of view, Gabe's was okay but sometimes you couldn't trust how he viewed everything,since he is young and only sees his own point of view. Overall I liked the book and I would recommend it because this book shows what people have to do to give their kids abetter life style and how facing racism can change them.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an alright book there is a lot of violence tho. When I say violence I mean like Gabe's brother would do harsh stuff to Gabe and will hurt him. Tomas was a bad student and didn't do good in school and Gabe was a good student until Gabe.....

[Filiberto Pena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book because it shows what poor people go through to survive. Tomas has to sell dogs to celebrities to earn cash.Also it shows the horrible childhood Gabe went through.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was rushed to be honest but otherwise its a good book.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read this book i didn't really think much about it and when i started it was a very interesting book and the characters u could relate to whats going on in today's world for most people.

[Nicole Mei · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is about two Filipino American brothers, Gabe and Tomas, who deal with a lot of family problems while trying to figure out who they are. Their mom is hard working and a single parents who wants want is best for them but she doesn't have much control over them. Things start to fall apart as Tomas gets involved in illegal stuff, and Gabe doesn't really speak up, even when things get out of control. The book does a good job showing how hard it can be to grow up in a family that's struggling with culture, identity, and money. Some parts are powerful and emotional especially when it shows how their mom is treated. But other parts feel slow or confusing, so it's hard to connect with the characters at times. Overall, it was a decent book with a strong message but it wasn't super exciting to read.

[Makayla Nichols · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book was okay even though the ending wasn't the best. It ended off at a point where you still have a lot of questions it kinda felt like a middle of a story. I didn't like how it was mostly on gabe sprespective either.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way Gabe perceives the world around him and comes to understand his emotions in this coming of age story, resides within many teens such as himself. Being a Philippine raised American left ripples and concern among his family, regarding his well being. living with an absent father and distant mother, Gabe had been molded into adulthood by his older brother. The unfortunate life he had been faced with, was one of inadequate support from his family and environment. For all who never knew the crucial importance one's family had on their development, this would be the story for you.

[Hung · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has many scenes of brotherhood, classism, and adversity. However, this book's ending does a terrible job on elaborating on those ideas, such as Tomas and Gabe's healing relationship, and their mothers. Benito's letters to the mother eventually ended up persuading her to send her son's to the Philippines, but we don't get a reason why from their mother. Strongly relying on our own reader senses to explain the reason for us, this is a common tool that is required to read and answer un-answser questions. But this happen to frequently that it ends up having a cliff like hanger in a single story book.

[Alexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book. I like how it showed sibling abuse But i think the ending could be better.

[Gaby Ruiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of scenes that really got my blood boiling. But I need to remember that everyone has a reason behind the madness. you never know why a person would do bad things unless you live that person's life, so why should I judge them? Their mom was struggling to support her kids and Tomas saw that. He decided to help make money, but doing unruly stuff happens to be the easiest way to make money.

[Denisse Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot, mainly because I like coming of age books and this is one. At the beginning of the book I got really interested in it and just wanted to see what would happen next but towards the middle it got boring and I started to neglect this book which is why I gave this a 4/5, but at ending it got interesting again. And loved how relatable this book was to me and other ppl who also read it.

[Temo Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose five stars because this book had to do with two brothers, an old one and a young one. So it had the theme brotherhood and it's one of my favorite themes so that's why I like this book a lot.I recommend this book to people that dont have brothers so they can see what it is to have one in the book.

[Wenjie Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Son was a refresher, especially because of how the story was written and how the characters are really shown through the eyes of Gabe. The ending was very abrupt and left the future for interpretation but that was something that was interesting. The book delves into many ideas of identity and characters that express those ideas and Gabe is one of those characters that experiences trouble with finding himself and who he is. At the end of the story, I feel that Gabe finds his own identity from the troubles of his mother and the actions of his brother. Overall, the book was a quick read and is packed with lots of information to chew on in the little passages that it gives.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Son might be one of my favorite novels by far. The details of the characters were so well written and it truly shows the history of the family that focuses both on the past and real life. It shocked me to see that the characters, especially Tomas, showed signs of physical and mental abuse that it seemed like Gabe never noticed. What was also interesting were Uncle Betino's letters throughout the novel. It was very clear of his demands, and I wish the decision to move to the Philippines had been more thought out and discussed with both siblings. Overall, it was a great book and is highly recommended for readers who are interested in real life situations and family relationships.

[Tyler Serpa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it is the mom's fault for the fall of Tomas and Gabe, it feels like she has no spine. As a filipino, this is not accurate. (my mom is super scary). If my mom caught me doing gang stuff, I would be kicked out and disowned. The author made Tomas' character flat and boring.

[Kendy Mendoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good book. It is about a Filipino mother who make to America, in order to give her sons a better life.She has not adapted to america's costumes. Her sons are not very appreciative of their mother, they are embarrassed of her because of the way she looks and acts. The main point of book was about how both sons do not care care for the mother, and the mother does not do anything about it. Out of the two bothers I think the oldest ones is the worst of the two sons.

[Alex Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I liked it's story. The thing that did bother me was the ending, I feel like it should've ended another way, like a bit more dramatic ending.

[Adelaide Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was very entertaining- The characters go so in depth, and the author Brian Ascalon Roley's style adds to the experience greatly. The characters seem to have grown, but at the same time not grown at all. The book simulates life as the ignored parts of society extremely well, whilst also incorporating the culture of popularity and socialism of the Philippenes through different viewpoints.