Book Review by Jose B. Gonzalez With a curious but intriguing title, The Smell of Old Lady Perfume by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez pulled me in, though I have to admit that at first I hesitated. After all, just the thought of Old Lady Perfume makes conjures up memories that are not so pleasant. I imagined …
Book Review by Jose B. Gonzalez Allusions to Samba, a photo on the book cover of someone playing a drum in a costume found at a carnival all belie what this book is about. Kathleen de Azevedo’s Samba Dreamers is a book about immigration, but not the rote tale of immigration we’ve read 1,000 times. …
Book Review by Jose B. Gonzalez The Saint of Santa Fe by Silvio Sirias is the compelling story of a young priest who has faith in humanity in the early 1970s—at a time when not all of humanity believes in equality and justice. Readers of this novel might be reminded of Archbishop Romero, whose life …
Book Review by Jose B. Gonzalez In Red Leather Gloves, B. V. Olguin takes on the world of boxing with poems that jab and set the reader up for punches to the gut. The collection provides a startling view of boxing—one that could only be composed by someone who has experienced that gritty, brutal world …
Book Review by Jose B. Gonzalez Natalia Treviño’s poetry collection, Lavando La Dirty Laundry, begins with a powerful poem about her grandmother’s nostalgic love of the color white. The poem, “Zapatos Blancos,” is so emotive that it begs to be read and reread. And as one continues with the rest of the book, it becomes …
