Thanks to the Fishtrap writers workshop, where Urrea is a member of the advisory board and frequently shows up to read and teach, I have fallen in love with the writing of Luis Alberto Urrea. Whether he’s writing nonfiction, fiction or poetry, his writing crackles with humor and brittle truths that have you laughing, nodding in recognition, and weeping at the same time. In this memoir, told in a series of essays, he tells about his youth in Tijuana and San Diego, growing up with an unpredictable...

I love the language in this book; it is truly lyrical. Great Book. Great Author....

This book was not what I expected. It is far less about growing up in a "clash of cultures" than about growing up in a horribly disfunctional family. It is filled with painful-to-read stories of cruelty to animals and small children (including the author). While there were a few bright spots, this book mostly made me very sad. And very appreciative of the loving parents that I was fortunate enough to be born to. I hope that Urrea's adult life has been much happier than his childhood.

I would have preferred to start this knowing that it was really a series of short stories as opposed to a memoir. There was some beautiful writing but the scenes from his childhood were remnants, not a cohesive story. Read it more like a long poem.

Noting my enthusiasm after reading the extraordinary 'The Hummingbird's Daughter,' my father lent me this collection of autobiographical essays by Urrea. Each was previously published in a magazine, but most work together as a unit. Four tales of Urrea's childhood in San Diego and Tiajuana are the strongest. The last essay, 'Leaving Shelltown,' about a solo camping trip, didn't fit, while 'Down the Highway with Edward Abbey,' which uses a road trip in Abbey's Cadillac to fondly reminisce about h...

Urrea is someone lost between several worlds, some which have been destroyed by the passage of time. He talks about the real, strange memories and visions. Some of the problems he faced as a Mexican-American are still out there with bells and dog whistles. If you like magical realism you may like this book.

This was an amazing book. I highly recommend it. It made me laugh on one page and almost cry on the next. "My life isn't so different from yours. My life is utterly alien compared to yours. You and I have nothing to say to each other. You and I share the same story. I am Other. I am you.So I've offered here a few words about my part of the journey. We're all headed the same way after all. Whether we chose to walk together or separately, we're going toward night. I am lucky. I have the angels of

This is a collection of short stories that capture different moments in Urrea's life. I like just about anything written by or about him but was hoping for something more like a memoir. Nonetheless, "Nobody's Son" gives good insight to how his childhood and, in particular, his parents, influenced his point of view.

Evocative prose with clever turns of phrase that made me smile aloud. He captured a period of time, a generation, a culture. This memoir further strengthens my appreciation of Urrea's writing style.For example, he paints a picture replete with vintage references to my childhood of watching Sunday afternoon science fiction, swooning over Illya Kuryakin in The Man from Uncle, and popping up pre-microwave popcorn: "The one Outer Limits that got under his skin was the one where David "Illya Kuryakin...

This set of writing gives a lot of insight into the author's other works. If you want to see the heart beating below the surface (the one with the border patrol truck misquoted but still rumbling), you will find a lot of aha! moments in this. Recommend reading this AFTER reading several other titles, reading it before might give away too many plot points!

This book actually gets a 3.5. Why doesn't goodreads have half stars? Anyway, a really good book by the author of the Devil's Highway which I read earlier this year and highly recommend. The content and style are very different from the Devil's Highway as this is an enthographic book about the author's life growing up in Tijuana/San Diego to multiracial parents in the 1960s. It's broken into three sections and within those, vignettes about Urrea's life. My favorite was about the family who he pa...

I especially liked the story "Sanctuary" in this collection. I thought many of the other stories were ok, but nothing special: overall, I prefer Urrea's longer fiction to these short pieces. But I did enjoy the glimpses they gave into the life of a Mexican American growing up in both worlds.

Everything Urrea has written is excellent.

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this novel. The non-linear narrative and meta meta story telling kept me engaged and curious. I loved the progression of the Latino narrative.

It shows us how does a person who has two different backgrounds feels and sees the world. It also focuses in how Spanish is intertwined with English in the United States and not just as "Spanglish", but borrowed words that people just assume are English and period. It has so many references to pop culture and political activists. I don't think it is a novel to please the reader, it is harsh and it won't matter of the story has a solid closure or at least an expected one.

I am teaching parts of this book this semester. Urrea's honesty is captivating.

Nobody's Son will take your hand and lead you home. America is home. It's the only home I have. Both Americas. All three Americas, from the Arctic circle to Tierra del Fuego.I'm not old enough to write my memoir. Yet I'd feel as if I'd cheated if I didn't try to share some observations. So many of us live in a nightmare of silence. We are sons and daughters of a middle region, nobody's children, marching under a starless flag. Some of us wave a black flag of anarchy, and others a red flag of rev...

I felt a deep and very personal sense of kinship with Luis Alberto Urrea as I read this book. As a fellow blue-eyed "half" Latino myself, I recognized the dichotomies he so eloquently expresses about what it means to be someone who does not look like people expect. I'd seen Urrea interviewed by Ilan Stavans of Amherst College years ago and had been planning to read his books ever since. I'm pleased I began with "Nobody's Son", which is poignant, sharply observed, and blissfully reverent and irre...

What an amazing voice! He has a way of describing something so different from my experience by making it familiar. All the while he is doing this he is courting me with his amazing grasp of language and complete vulnerability. Wow.

This was my first encounter with Urrea's prose. Truly well-crafted. I savored every page. Looking forward to reading more of his work.