How did I let this review slip by. Into the Beautiful North is an enchanting novel with wonderful characters and the strangest immigrant story I've ever read.
The men in nineteen-year-old Nayeli's village have, for the most part, gone north to the U.S. to earn money for their families. Bandits are in the process of gaining control of the village that now consists mostly of women, when Nayeli watches The Magnificent Seven. She rounds up her crew: Veronica and Yoloxochitl (her school girl friends), and Tacho, the young gay owner of the taco stand and heads north with the blessings of her Tia Irma. The plan is to recruit 7 Mexican "warriors" to return to their village and help defeat the banditos.
From the beginning there is a kind of inverse story going on and a reversal of how one thinks of immigrants from south of the border. Full of funny and sad and dangerous and silly escapades, Nayeli and her crew are taken advantage of by their own people, discover that the poorest of the poor are willing to share unstintingly, deal with the terrors of a border crossing, find a knight in the garbage settlement on the border, and more. The fairy tale quality and the humor mixed with the failures and the danger help you fall in love with all of the characters, and more importantly, provide a completely different perspective of the immigrant experience! Don Quixote-esque.
I couldn't have enjoyed it more and loved both the characters and the tongue-in-cheek attitude I could feel from the author. (Thanks to Gin Jenny for piquing my interest in this one.) OOPs -- had to make a correction of where I read about this one!
Purchased the Kindle Edition. Read in April.
Contemporary Fiction. 2009. Print version: 352 pages.
I have this book on my shelf and really need to get to it. I loved his book The Hummingbird's Daughter and was lucky to see him at the Texas Book Festival several years ago. Really liked hearing about his background, which I'm sure he uses in a lot of his books. Glad to hear you enjoyed this one!
ReplyDeleteI want to read The Hummingbird's Daughter--it is on my list. I'd love to have heard him speak; he had a neat little acknowledgement section in the back that described how he came about using the name Nayeli and how he captured the voices of the Nayeli and her friends.
DeleteYayyyyy! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Wasn't it just a total dear of a book?
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to read, and I'm planning to read more books by Urrea. I loved so much about Into the Beautiful North--thanks for your review which led me to it!
DeleteThis is one of those books I have had on my bookshelf for years--and still haven't read. Argh. I remember hearing how wonderful it was when my interest was first piqued and now you've gone and reminded me I need to read it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou should give it a try--it has so many likable (and some really eccentric) characters. It is probably lonely on your bookshelf.
DeleteThis sounds different from anything I've ever read. I'll add it to my list. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDelete:) It has to be the most unusual immigrant, border crossing, quest theme I've read.
DeleteI don't think I've read anything like this. However, I'd read a few good reviews so I might add this to my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteEntertaining and funny, but at the same time showing that the immigrant story (anywhere) is not exactly what we imagine (on either side of that border).
Delete