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Amigoland
In a small town on the Mexican border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Stubborn and independent, they now must face the facts: they are old, and they have let a family argument stand between them for too long. Don Celestino's good-natured housekeeper encourages him to make amends--while he still can. They secretly liberate Don Fidencio from his nursing home and travel into
Mexico
to solve the mystery at the heart of their dispute: the family legend of their grandfather's kidnapping. As the unlikely trio travels, the brothers learn it's never too late for a new beginning.
With winsome prose and heartfelt humor, Oscar Casares's debut novel of family lost and found radiates with generosity and grace and confirms the arrival of a uniquely talented new writer.
With winsome prose and heartfelt humor, Oscar Casares's debut novel of family lost and found radiates with generosity and grace and confirms the arrival of a uniquely talented new writer.
357 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
26 people are currently reading
715 people want to read
About the author
Oscar Cásares
7 books96 followersOscar Cásares is the author of Brownsville, a collection of stories that was an American Library Association Notable Book of 2004, and is now included in the curriculum at several American universities, and the novel Amigoland. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Copernicus Society of America, and the Texas Institute of Letters. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he teaches creative writing at the University of Texas in Austin, where he lives.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
June 25, 2016
Perhaps you must be related to a crotchety abuelita to really love this book as much as I did. I really enjoyed the use of language and the point of view in this book. The characters,plotting and pacing are beautiful. I also appreciated the author's use of nuance and detail to bring the story to life. I was hooked from the moment that Casares mentioned that the main character,Don Fidencio,had a warped Narciso Martinez cassette in an old shoe box. That is precisely the kind of music enjoyed by my grandma's generation.
I was really taken with the character's names and I though that the author did an especially splendid job of capturing the rythym of old people's Spanish without writing in Spanish. This aspect of the book's style was especially fascinating to me.
I have a tooth ache and a stomach ache,yet I was able to forget my woes by reading this book. LOVED IT.
I was really taken with the character's names and I though that the author did an especially splendid job of capturing the rythym of old people's Spanish without writing in Spanish. This aspect of the book's style was especially fascinating to me.
I have a tooth ache and a stomach ache,yet I was able to forget my woes by reading this book. LOVED IT.
May 6, 2011
Don Fidencio Rosales, a nonagenarian who has recently been weakened by a stroke, has been condemned by his daughter to a hellish old age home in south Texas near the Mexican border, appropriately named "Amigoland". He rebels against the rules that only serve to take away his remaining freedom, and he despises the staff and his fellow residents, giving them nicknames such as The One With the Flat Face and The One Who Cries Like a Dying Calf.
Soon after his internment he is visited by Don Celestino Rosales, his much younger widowed brother, and his even younger girlfriend Socorro, a divorced maid who cleans his house. The two men have been estranged from each other for years after a trivial argument, and Socorro has urged Don Celestino to visit Don Fidencio in the old age home. The two men reluctantly set aside their grudges, and the couple take Don Fidencio on a trip across the border to Linares, Mexico, in order to fulfill a promise he made to his grandfather many years ago.
Amigoland is a well written and pleasant novel, but the story and its characters were only mildly interesting to me, which made for a good but not particularly memorable read.
Soon after his internment he is visited by Don Celestino Rosales, his much younger widowed brother, and his even younger girlfriend Socorro, a divorced maid who cleans his house. The two men have been estranged from each other for years after a trivial argument, and Socorro has urged Don Celestino to visit Don Fidencio in the old age home. The two men reluctantly set aside their grudges, and the couple take Don Fidencio on a trip across the border to Linares, Mexico, in order to fulfill a promise he made to his grandfather many years ago.
Amigoland is a well written and pleasant novel, but the story and its characters were only mildly interesting to me, which made for a good but not particularly memorable read.
July 11, 2018
Since I have been a long-time fan of Oscar Cásares writing, of course I wanted to read his novel...although I must say, the idea that it revolved around two old men didn't pique my interest particularly—I'm quite glad this didn't stop me from picking it up! Cásares's novel is hilarious and touching! Although he is quite young, he recreates the mindsets of these older men in a way that feel authentic, while also being hilarious. In an article he had written "My Name Is Cásares," he discusses a search into a story/mystery of his family's past, which the article leaves unresolved. In the novel, he explores how this story/mystery might have been resolved through fiction.
December 22, 2022
Amigoland begins as a depressing chronicle of life reluctantly lived in a nursing home, and if the story ever truly escapes the reader’s desire to see something hopeful come from that, it’s into the past. It’s a kind of Quixote story. It’s a journey into a story that may or may not have happened. I don’t think it matters one way or another. It’s a good story.
Casares explains in supplement material how he drew on his own family history, and yet the story he came up with feels contained within these pages. The back copy tells a different story, about a feud between Fidencio and Celestino, which isn’t really there; each is struggling with their aging bodies, though at different stages, and the idea of aging itself. Casares doesn’t explore so much as suggest whatever dynamic they had before, how they lost themselves to long careers that took over their lives but in the end meant little enough to them, and left them by the wayside. Parallel to them is Socorro, who is both much younger than either but very aware of what she too has lost along the way, but far less willing to accept her fate. So she makes a trip into Mexico happen, and then basically walks away. Fidencio stays, Celestino heads back out into the unknown. The story doesn’t have a definitive ending for any of them, and yet all three have some better idea of where they’re headed, or at least what’s important to them, a better grasp of their lives, what they have, what they want.
So it’s interesting. A very lucky dollar store find, certainly! It works on a lot of levels, not the least of which being a window into lives on the border. I think it has a lot of value.
Casares explains in supplement material how he drew on his own family history, and yet the story he came up with feels contained within these pages. The back copy tells a different story, about a feud between Fidencio and Celestino, which isn’t really there; each is struggling with their aging bodies, though at different stages, and the idea of aging itself. Casares doesn’t explore so much as suggest whatever dynamic they had before, how they lost themselves to long careers that took over their lives but in the end meant little enough to them, and left them by the wayside. Parallel to them is Socorro, who is both much younger than either but very aware of what she too has lost along the way, but far less willing to accept her fate. So she makes a trip into Mexico happen, and then basically walks away. Fidencio stays, Celestino heads back out into the unknown. The story doesn’t have a definitive ending for any of them, and yet all three have some better idea of where they’re headed, or at least what’s important to them, a better grasp of their lives, what they have, what they want.
So it’s interesting. A very lucky dollar store find, certainly! It works on a lot of levels, not the least of which being a window into lives on the border. I think it has a lot of value.
July 11, 2015
This book lingered in my mind for years after first reading it. I couldn't even remember why I loved it but I knew that it touched me deeply so I read it again and it flooded back with full force. If you ever loved an old person or if you are an old person or want to be an old person some day this book will touch you. I loved the old men in this book and cared deeply what happened to them. They and their lives are beautifully depicted by this first time author. My family is from Texas and New Mexico so I felt I knew the setting there and in Mexico. Having been captive of a convalescent hospital I felt that atmosphere was very well drawn as well. The great old men in this book will stay with you I promise.
February 1, 2010
In much the same way that I couldn't get through Confederacy of Dunces until I lived in New Orleans, and the way I swell up with Midwest longing while reading Willa Cather, I'm not sure I'm Texas enough to truly appreciate Casares. Yet.
August 20, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11255678
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11255678
December 3, 2022
This book touches on a subject matter that is so often ignored or just brushed over in the lightest way possible: aging and death and dying. I would absolutely recommend this book to nursing students and even medical students (doctors).
Two estranged brothers that lost touch over what most disagreements are over, stupidity and pride, and find their way back to one another. They are both elderly and living much different lives.
Frankly, Don Fedencio's character is hysterical. He's mean, crotchety and just blunt. He's spent his life womanizing, drinking and smoking but still managed to make it to a ripe old age of 91. This man hates the hand that he's been dealt as many do at this moment in time. He wants to live the way he wants without being patronized or treated like a child and rightfully so. He's not thriving in the nursing home. Not only is his health much worse than he's willing to accept but his mind is starting to fail him. He's remembering happier times as a young boy with the man he's named after and reliving the stories of excitement that dear old Papa Grande told him as a child. Between dreaming of a tale so tall that not even his brother believes him and dreaming of being a younger man he's remembering times when he hadn't been good to his belated wife or human being. Life is slipping away and he's grasping the walker of life for independence.
Meanwhile, his brother, Don Celestino has recently been widowed after 50 years of marital bliss and has started an affair that's frowned upon in most circles. Once a barber and well respected member of his community struggles with his own health concerns all while trying to bridge the familial gap with his brother. He struggles with wanting to find value in life while still being fairly young but battling the beginning stages of the aging process while still trying to appear as a desirable virile man with something to offer a much younger woman.
They embark on a journey together with the company of a beautiful and kind nurturing woman to find the boyhood home of Papa Grande. One wants to prove that the tall tale isn't a figment of his imagination to his baby brother and to fulfill a promise he made a million years ago in an attempt to find belonging in a family of 11 siblings all gone but the 2 of them. The other wants to give a dying man one last hoorah at normalcy while defying his neice and spend some quality time with a woman that he can't possibly tie down due to his own fears of inadequacy through aging.
It's told in a way that is extremely realistic. I'm an RN and tend to learn so much about my elderly patients. I have worked in nursing homes, assisted living, hospice, rehabilitation units and home health. The extortion used against these people is absolutely REAL! The thoughts and feelings of being discarded, left behind, forgotten and useless is real and this author is able to use humor in an old crotchety man sort of way to the very forefront of the last stage of life.
Two estranged brothers that lost touch over what most disagreements are over, stupidity and pride, and find their way back to one another. They are both elderly and living much different lives.
Frankly, Don Fedencio's character is hysterical. He's mean, crotchety and just blunt. He's spent his life womanizing, drinking and smoking but still managed to make it to a ripe old age of 91. This man hates the hand that he's been dealt as many do at this moment in time. He wants to live the way he wants without being patronized or treated like a child and rightfully so. He's not thriving in the nursing home. Not only is his health much worse than he's willing to accept but his mind is starting to fail him. He's remembering happier times as a young boy with the man he's named after and reliving the stories of excitement that dear old Papa Grande told him as a child. Between dreaming of a tale so tall that not even his brother believes him and dreaming of being a younger man he's remembering times when he hadn't been good to his belated wife or human being. Life is slipping away and he's grasping the walker of life for independence.
Meanwhile, his brother, Don Celestino has recently been widowed after 50 years of marital bliss and has started an affair that's frowned upon in most circles. Once a barber and well respected member of his community struggles with his own health concerns all while trying to bridge the familial gap with his brother. He struggles with wanting to find value in life while still being fairly young but battling the beginning stages of the aging process while still trying to appear as a desirable virile man with something to offer a much younger woman.
They embark on a journey together with the company of a beautiful and kind nurturing woman to find the boyhood home of Papa Grande. One wants to prove that the tall tale isn't a figment of his imagination to his baby brother and to fulfill a promise he made a million years ago in an attempt to find belonging in a family of 11 siblings all gone but the 2 of them. The other wants to give a dying man one last hoorah at normalcy while defying his neice and spend some quality time with a woman that he can't possibly tie down due to his own fears of inadequacy through aging.
It's told in a way that is extremely realistic. I'm an RN and tend to learn so much about my elderly patients. I have worked in nursing homes, assisted living, hospice, rehabilitation units and home health. The extortion used against these people is absolutely REAL! The thoughts and feelings of being discarded, left behind, forgotten and useless is real and this author is able to use humor in an old crotchety man sort of way to the very forefront of the last stage of life.
July 3, 2017
Every guy should read this, especially if you have a brother.
This is a book about two elderly brothers, one ancient, and one almost so. Even though they grew up in the same family, the distance in age between the two of them is great. Given the time between them, they grew up in two different cultures and have different values. They go on a quest to find where their father’s family had once come.
I found the book to be very funny at times especially the “fights” between the older brother and the nursing home staff – where he points out that he is 91 and won’t live forever. The story had several poignant moments where the brothers bonded, as kids they were so far apart in age they never really bonded. It was also rich in descriptions of the situations they were in when they took their quest into Mexico.
This book is not for everyone, but it should be.
In a small town on the Mexican border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Stubborn and independent, they now must face the facts: they are old, and they have let a family argument stand between them for too long. Don Celestino's good-natured housekeeper encourages him to make amends--while he still can. They secretly liberate Don Fidencio from his nursing home and travel into Mexico to solve the mystery at the heart of their dispute: the family legend of their grandfather's kidnapping. As the unlikely trio travels, the brothers learn it's never too late for a new beginning. With winsome prose and heartfelt humor, Oscar Casares's debut novel of family lost and found radiates with generosity and grace and confirms the arrival of a uniquely talented new writer.
This is a book about two elderly brothers, one ancient, and one almost so. Even though they grew up in the same family, the distance in age between the two of them is great. Given the time between them, they grew up in two different cultures and have different values. They go on a quest to find where their father’s family had once come.
I found the book to be very funny at times especially the “fights” between the older brother and the nursing home staff – where he points out that he is 91 and won’t live forever. The story had several poignant moments where the brothers bonded, as kids they were so far apart in age they never really bonded. It was also rich in descriptions of the situations they were in when they took their quest into Mexico.
This book is not for everyone, but it should be.
In a small town on the Mexican border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Stubborn and independent, they now must face the facts: they are old, and they have let a family argument stand between them for too long. Don Celestino's good-natured housekeeper encourages him to make amends--while he still can. They secretly liberate Don Fidencio from his nursing home and travel into Mexico to solve the mystery at the heart of their dispute: the family legend of their grandfather's kidnapping. As the unlikely trio travels, the brothers learn it's never too late for a new beginning. With winsome prose and heartfelt humor, Oscar Casares's debut novel of family lost and found radiates with generosity and grace and confirms the arrival of a uniquely talented new writer.
April 20, 2024
If you are of a certain age, of which I am, this book is bloodchilling. Amigoland is an assisted care facility. We follow the patient Don Fidencio who doesn’t want to be there, doesn’t want to admit he needs the care he needs, doesn’t want anything to do with the walker he needs to walk. He’s no longer proficient at remembering names so he refers to staffers with names like The One with the Flat Face, and his fellow residents have monikers like The Gringo with the Ugly Finger. An ingenious way to remember who’s who.
Fidencio’s younger brother helps him escape. He is no youngster himself and is well into retirement. He is accompanied by his Mexican house cleaner/lover who is 30 years his junior. She is the voice of common sense through this epic.
The three of them go on a bus/taxi road trip through Mexico in search of Fidencio’s childhood home. It is a journey full of angst, emotions and humor.
This is a tale of identity. The brothers, though living in Texas, are not quite American, not quite Mexican. It is maybe a fact of life living on the border. It’s also very much about being alone. About losing parents or spouses or family and losing a sense of your roots.
This is both an entertaining and insightful read. Casares reminds us of the human issues on the border, not the polarizing political ones. And one more thing, it reminds us that it sucks to get old and watch your body give out on you.
Fidencio’s younger brother helps him escape. He is no youngster himself and is well into retirement. He is accompanied by his Mexican house cleaner/lover who is 30 years his junior. She is the voice of common sense through this epic.
The three of them go on a bus/taxi road trip through Mexico in search of Fidencio’s childhood home. It is a journey full of angst, emotions and humor.
This is a tale of identity. The brothers, though living in Texas, are not quite American, not quite Mexican. It is maybe a fact of life living on the border. It’s also very much about being alone. About losing parents or spouses or family and losing a sense of your roots.
This is both an entertaining and insightful read. Casares reminds us of the human issues on the border, not the polarizing political ones. And one more thing, it reminds us that it sucks to get old and watch your body give out on you.
December 31, 2018
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it's beautifully written, with rich details, and a crotchety but well-developed protagonist, Don Fidencio. On the other hand, the plot moves too slowly, and the character of the brother, Don Celestino, is not as fully developed as he should be. I like the optimistic ending, which is a message of hope for the aging and the aged: life isn't over until it's over--enjoy it while you can. But the realist in me had a problem with the humor in the story and the impracticality of a 92 year-old tossing aside all care (and all his meds) to live life as he wants. As a former part-time caregiver, I didn't find it funny (as I believe the author means it to be) to read the confused ramblings of irritable old men. But the fact is, Don Fidencio was placed in a nursing home because it was more convenient for his family to put him there. He doesn't belong there-- not yet, anyway. Sadly, for many of the elderly--those with advanced dementia or serious mobility issues, for example--a nursing home is often the only option.
December 17, 2020
When my bookclub read *Where We Come From* I was intrigued to seek out backlist titles by Casares. I’m glad I did. Casares writes authentically about his hometown of Brownsville, TX and the nearby border with Mexico. His books are full of those who call Mexico home but want to leave it behind.
Amigoland is a senior living facility that is populated with Mexican-Americans and in particular the fiesty Don Fidencio Rosales. Don Fidencio and his brother Don Celestino bookended a large family but were separated by enough years that they hardly knew one another. Now the two elderly brothers have little time to build a relationship to and learn the truth of an old family legend—and they have to go to Mexico to find their answers. This old guy road trip book is sweet, funny, and a realistic portrayal of the inconvenience that an aging population can be made to feel. Casares is a beautiful writer and this debut novel is written with warmth and humor.
Amigoland is a senior living facility that is populated with Mexican-Americans and in particular the fiesty Don Fidencio Rosales. Don Fidencio and his brother Don Celestino bookended a large family but were separated by enough years that they hardly knew one another. Now the two elderly brothers have little time to build a relationship to and learn the truth of an old family legend—and they have to go to Mexico to find their answers. This old guy road trip book is sweet, funny, and a realistic portrayal of the inconvenience that an aging population can be made to feel. Casares is a beautiful writer and this debut novel is written with warmth and humor.
November 16, 2023
I really enjoyed this book about two brothers, one in his early 70s and one in his early 90s, who reunite, and then make a Thelma and Louise, like journey to Mexico, to explore a legend related to them by their grandfather. The examination of relationship, of aging, of sex, and of culture were all thoroughly explored. But if I read one more book where is 70 year old is presented as a fumbling geriatric who can’t possibly enjoy your sex life I’m going to cut up my library card and go back to staying between the lines in coloring books made for five year olds. Perhaps the author could’ve explored the issue of what makes one feel old and what perceptions to others have of people of a given age. This book was all about beliefs and choices and actions, and frankly, I take offense at the implication, that those all somehow trickle to an end by the age of 70.
June 9, 2017
3.5, but I decided to round up. I wasn't the biggest fan of this book most of the way through. What had originally intrigued me from the blurb on the back doesn't really come into play until maybe the last 100 pages of the book (the book is about 400 pages, at least in my edition). The story was intriguing enough, but I found it to be slow paced - probably because I was waiting for something mentioned on the back, which is totally my fault! Looking back, the writing was great. The slowness suits the book and the descriptions and language was wonderful. For some reason, I seemed to rush myself through this book, but even still, I've really come to appreciate this story. I recommend it, but it's not for everyone. And that's okay too! :)
May 13, 2018
Amigoland was an absolute joy to read. Casares has captured the sense of place in the border towns of Texas and Mexico perfectly. His characters, from the brothers we get to know well to the strangers in the Amigoland nursing home, are true and lifelike. He takes his time building the place and the people and the pacing feels as important to the story as the plot itself, giving the reader the sense of languishing among strangers for a while before the thrill of escape and adventure.
September 21, 2019
Honest portrayal of life in Texas, where lines between Mexico and the US were blurry or non-existent for most of history. A pair of older brothers, estranged by petty squabbles for many years, come together at the end of their lives through the intercession of a younger woman. They travel together from Brownsville to Mexico to find relatives and verify family lore. This book is surprisingly sweet and displays characters' foibles without judgment.
August 20, 2019
2.5 STARS
Tale of a younger brother breaking his 90 year old sibling out of his care center and fulfilling his dream of seeing his grandfather's ranchcita in Mexico one last time as he long ago promised. Some humorous parts, good description of living in a care center as well as traveling across the border into Mexico then getting on a Mexican bus.
Tale of a younger brother breaking his 90 year old sibling out of his care center and fulfilling his dream of seeing his grandfather's ranchcita in Mexico one last time as he long ago promised. Some humorous parts, good description of living in a care center as well as traveling across the border into Mexico then getting on a Mexican bus.
June 20, 2017
Wonderful, high-spirited novel about an elderly dementia patient who manages to talk his brother into breaking him out of his nursing home for a trip over the border to clear up a family controversy. Super entertaining.
October 22, 2019
2.5 stars
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
May 9, 2021
I gave the book itself 3 stars but I would give the last few lines 5. And the views inside a nursing home are sadly realistic.
October 12, 2023
An enjoyable story with vivid descriptions that made me feel embedded in the setting. Don’t expect a climax or a plot twist. The ending was abrupt
June 17, 2011
Oscar Casares is a writer who won't be hurried. It takes "Amigoland" perhaps half the novel to spring one of its protagonists, the 91-year old Fidencio, from the nursing home of the title. The man who springs him is his estranged much younger brother, Celestino, and together with Celestino's even younger Mexican lover, they travel to the rancho in Mexico from which their grandfather was kidnapped by Indians in a horrific raid. It is a pleasant enough trip, as Casares takes the time to observe this slice of northern Mexico closely, with its crammed bus terminals, testy immigration officers, and wandering taxi rides. And, of course, the rituals of courtesy in rural Mexico. Not all of it feels this authentic -- there is a painfully sentimental motif about the young chiclet sellers -- and the brothers' arguments can go on for a while. Atmosphere counts for a lot in this world. The ranch they find is outside Monterrey, in the citrus region of Linares, which is something I find personally difficult for reasons that having nothing to do with this book. At about the time it was published in 2009, Linares was being terrorized by a kidnapping ring allied with the Zeta cartel. On December 31 of last year, the ring's leader, a divorced mother in her early thirties, was publicly executed by a rival cartel on one of Monterrey's main arteries. This is of course just the most deliberately shocking incident in the daily news of gunfights, grenade-throwing, and murders that creeps out of Monterry. I travelled across Mexico for three years or so, and never felt less than safe, even at 5 a.m. in Mexico City, and it saddens me to have to wonder whether the Mexicans -- some of whom fed me when I hungry, took care of me when sick, and offered me shelter -- will ever be able to recover the kind of instinctive courtesy that Casares demonstrates in this novel.
January 4, 2018
The true success of this work is the compassion and empathy with which the author draws his characters. Don Fidencio and his brother seemed so real, their fears and hopes tangible. Casares transports his readers through foreign worlds with ease and simplicity, and deals with fraught themes like aging, fear of meaninglessness, immigration and class divisions without seeming preachy or overbearing.
Amigoland, however, lacked a sense of propulsion or tension. The action builds slowly, and the characters do not embark on their haphazard journey to Mexico until halfway through the novel. Although I was completely enamored with the relationship between the brothers and between Socorro and Celestino, I craved more action. The plot was so delicious when it happened…I just wanted more to happen.
The relationship between Celestino and Socorro also could have been fleshed out more. I couldn’t exactly figure out why the two were drawn to one another; all of their conversations seemed so relationship-centric, being together by talking about being together. Although Socorro fervently denies her family’s claims that Celestino is using her, I couldn’t divine the emotional core that attracted them to each other. The relationship seemed taken for granted, as fact, but I needed it to be proven to me.
Amigoland, however, lacked a sense of propulsion or tension. The action builds slowly, and the characters do not embark on their haphazard journey to Mexico until halfway through the novel. Although I was completely enamored with the relationship between the brothers and between Socorro and Celestino, I craved more action. The plot was so delicious when it happened…I just wanted more to happen.
The relationship between Celestino and Socorro also could have been fleshed out more. I couldn’t exactly figure out why the two were drawn to one another; all of their conversations seemed so relationship-centric, being together by talking about being together. Although Socorro fervently denies her family’s claims that Celestino is using her, I couldn’t divine the emotional core that attracted them to each other. The relationship seemed taken for granted, as fact, but I needed it to be proven to me.
June 17, 2015
The horrors of maintaining independence and dignity as you reach the twilight years are well examined in this story of a 91-yera-old Chicano man trapped in the "prison" of a retirement/old folk's home, hidden away by family and basically forgotten. Beset with many of the maladies experienced by much-older men, Don Fidencio Rosales dreams of returning to his native Mexico to resist the grounds and tales departed to him by his beloved grandfather. Only one surviving sibling, Celestino, a former barber twenty years his junior, having just lost his wife and entered a new relationship with a younger woman, reunited with his older brother for a little adventure. This first novel is pretty good, although at times it moved along about as well as an old timer on pushing his walker, and it lacked a bit of passion or mystery, but it was still decent, in a new MFA kind of way. The squabbling is delicious. The story does give nice insights into the long-standing relationship between neighboring countries, and some of what it is like to be caught between two worlds.
March 14, 2010
This story was very reflective and understated. Fidencio's time in the nursing home is very dream-like, especially with his descriptions of the other inhabitants and workers-- The Turtles, The Gringo With The Ugly Finger, The One With The Big Ones. Don Celestino and Socorro's relationship is very sweet. Their journey to the ranchito in Mexico is full of old stories of their grandfather's time there, and it seems like they are going back in time when they go there. I loved reading this-- it was slow-paced but had enough humor and suspense to keep me turning the pages. It is very Texas, and I love that about it-- it also reminds me of Western authors like Wallace Stegner, Ivan Doig, and Willa Cather.
I read it because I saw that it had been chosen for the mayor's book club in Austin, and it sounded interesting. The book club events so far have consisted of film screenings such as Cocoon, the Bucket List, and other movies about old people. I hope the author, who lives in Austin, isn't totally insulted.
I read it because I saw that it had been chosen for the mayor's book club in Austin, and it sounded interesting. The book club events so far have consisted of film screenings such as Cocoon, the Bucket List, and other movies about old people. I hope the author, who lives in Austin, isn't totally insulted.
April 15, 2011
how could i not pick up a book called amigoland? about halfway through the book, i found out the title is the name of a nursing home. this story is a bit about mexicans in america, somewhat about brotherhood and ambiguous relationships, and mostly about growing old.
the story follows two brothers, almost 30 years apart, as they reconcile after many years and then embark on an adventure (would i call it that after reading along? maybe a small trip?) to mexico where their ancestors were from.
i read casares' book brownsville, which i enjoyed for a collection of short stories. this book is quite good and i think i gave it 3 stars mostly because of the content. it's not a page turner, but like its subject, meanders around at an older pace. would you be flipping pages quickly to find out what happens next at the nursing home? probably not, but casares does an excellent job of capturing the humanity and embarrassment of growing older and the things we must deal with in our daily lives.
the story follows two brothers, almost 30 years apart, as they reconcile after many years and then embark on an adventure (would i call it that after reading along? maybe a small trip?) to mexico where their ancestors were from.
i read casares' book brownsville, which i enjoyed for a collection of short stories. this book is quite good and i think i gave it 3 stars mostly because of the content. it's not a page turner, but like its subject, meanders around at an older pace. would you be flipping pages quickly to find out what happens next at the nursing home? probably not, but casares does an excellent job of capturing the humanity and embarrassment of growing older and the things we must deal with in our daily lives.
April 27, 2012
Oscar Casares nails this border tale of coming to grips with the losses of old age. The betrayal of the body's beauty and function is relentless in this home where all levels of care are provided. Don Fidencio is trapped here because he fell asleep in the cold and pissed himself.
A daughter and the "son of a bitch" (her husband) decide that he needs care somewhere else than their home. Thus Don is stuck in Amigoland and he is not taking it very well. He has descriptive and derogatory "names" for all the staff and fellow patients. They are worth the price of admission.
The story unfolds slowly and with great consciousness as his brother, Don Celestino, and his brother's lover/housekeeper Socorro come to visit. The complicated dance between the older ex postal worker and the day worker from Mexico is starkly revealing about the perils and baggage that get in the way of starting over. Her kindness takes all three on an adventure into the brother's past in Mexico. Truely one of the best books I have read in years.
A daughter and the "son of a bitch" (her husband) decide that he needs care somewhere else than their home. Thus Don is stuck in Amigoland and he is not taking it very well. He has descriptive and derogatory "names" for all the staff and fellow patients. They are worth the price of admission.
The story unfolds slowly and with great consciousness as his brother, Don Celestino, and his brother's lover/housekeeper Socorro come to visit. The complicated dance between the older ex postal worker and the day worker from Mexico is starkly revealing about the perils and baggage that get in the way of starting over. Her kindness takes all three on an adventure into the brother's past in Mexico. Truely one of the best books I have read in years.
March 29, 2010
If I could redo putting my uncle Leroy in a nursing home, this is how I would do it. This book captured the horrow of nursing homes in a funny way. Who would have thought this possible??? The author currently lives in Austin, TX and teaches at UT. I read an article of his in Texas Monthly and loved it so I decided to read his book. Quirky but realistic. I admire characters like this who fight the inevitable of failing memory and broken bodies. Those who find a way to live a full life despite society's desire to "keep old people safe in nursing homes". Fighting for a life outside medicine, pills, and nursing home food is how I want to go. Some people choose to enjoy life till the end. This may mean a shorter life but often the quality is better. Some are graced with quantity of life but have to fight for the quality and good in life as nature steals from a person. Great look into the Texas/Mexican border life.
May 31, 2013
For anyone who has ever lived in Texas, this book will stir you to sentimentality almost to the point of tears. Casares summons the substance of Texania well, capturing the corporate personalities of old Mexican-American men quite accurately. The work explores the questions of life, death, peace, fidelity and God in a way that is accessible and hilarious. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars, is because there is a section or two where the sentimentality is too much and the feeling quickly goes from the easy flow of a pleasurable read presented by a writer confident of in his craft, to over-tried intellectual pap forced upon an audience by a writer who is trying to convince his audience that they should think him as great as he thinks he is. In a word: This book is amazing, but there are probably 10 or so paragraphs in the book where Casares seems to be trying way to hard to convey something.
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