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Orange County: A Personal History Gets Starred PW Review!

Posted by Gustavo Arellano in Chronicle a Mexican, Gunkist Memories

July 18, 2008 11:21 AM

Permalink | Comments (12)

ocperscov.jpgA couple of weeks ago, I noted that my coming Orange County: A Personal History was positively reviewed by Kirkus, one of the two major book review journals in the publishing world. Today, I found out that the other one just weighed in: Publishers Weekly. And not just any review: my book received a coveted starred review, which is about as easy to get from the company as nice words about illegals from the Minuteman Project.

The review is here, but I include it after the jump in its entirety:

Readers get two stories for the price of one in this witty and informative memoir. Journalist Arellano (¡Ask a Mexican!) chronicles the sweet-and-sour story of his family's assimilation into American culture, while also recounting a historical narrative at odds with the bucolic ideal of a place that's been mythologized for decades. “We're so American, so Orange County, that we're even prone to romanticize a past that never existed.” Arellano's structure keeps the narrative moving along at a snappy pace, alternating the threads of the story so “odd chapters constitute the memoir, even chapters tell the history, and one complements the other.” Readers get solid background on the beginning of master-planned communities during the 1920s, the little remembered Citrus War, Orange County's embarrassing 1994 bankruptcy and special mix of conservatism coupled with a dollop of big-time religion. “A 2005 Harper's article named Orange County the country's second hotbed of evangelical Christianity after Colorado Springs,” Arellano writes, and of the 100 megachurches in the U.S. with the largest congregations, four are in Orange County. Arellano explores a place he calls the “Petri dish for America's continuing democratic experiment” and delivers a prescient view of the new American landscape.

Yeah, I'm as shocked as you. Remember, folks: the book comes out Sept. 16, and my first book signing is Sept. 18 (many more details to come) through Libreria Martinez. If you're so inclined to buy, buy with them, por favor.

 

Comments (12)

  1. rebecca says:
    July 18, 2008 14:10

    Stavo, that's wonderful! Yay, you! Good seeing you last night, too.

  2. Daniel Olivas says:
    July 18, 2008 14:22

    Am I surprised? Nope. But who will play you in the Lifetime Television movie? ¡Felicidades!

  3. el serracho says:
    July 18, 2008 14:45

    this is good news GA, no offense but i skipped your first book; this is one i've been saving my money for.

  4. Gustavo Arellano says:
    July 18, 2008 14:55

    Rebecca: Gracias for the kind words!

    Daniel: I say Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite

    Serrach: No offense taken--gracias!

  5. Diego says:
    July 18, 2008 16:51

    Almost done with your first book, looking forward to reading this one!

  6. Cesar says:
    July 19, 2008 08:34

    Hey, 'Tavo, my ultra-liberal gabacho friend from New Mex is a big fan of yours. Where and when can I get you to sign your first book so that I may give it to him as a present? As for me, you once autographed an 'Ask A Mex' strip at Martinez during that panel discussion con Larry Mantle, that idiot Latino minutewoman pendeja, and one other token pendejo representing the city council idiotas. But I am also looking forward to your next book release. Dime si se puede and I can swing by.. Thx..

  7. Bob Squalonero says:
    July 19, 2008 12:10

    Congratulations Gustavo!

    I don't know if I'll be able to make it to the book signing, but I plan to buy the book.

    I'm sure the fact that the book comes out on Mexican Independence Day, is pure coincidence. ;-)

  8. OC Latino says:
    July 20, 2008 16:09

    Gustavo,
    Great news! I hope this is a sign of things to come...

    best,

    P.

  9. Gustavo Arellano says:
    July 21, 2008 08:17

    Bob: Actually, it was Divine coincidence!

    Cesar: Email me at GArellano@ocweekly.com and let's set something up!

  10. Alex Brant-Zawadzki says:
    July 21, 2008 09:09

    I want to be like Gustavo when I grow up. Lucky for us that'll never happen.

  11. Matias says:
    July 21, 2008 10:53

    Congrats, Gustavo! Let's grab some empanadas soon.

  12. Kat says:
    July 23, 2008 04:02

    I've told my huge, extended family, and made everyone swear to get you latest!.....

    Good job!....

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