Gritos

Book excerpt: A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist: A wide-ranging collection of essays on the Mexican American experience by the acclaimed Chicano author. Once a struggling journeyman carpenter, Dagoberto Gilb has won widespread acclaim as a crucial and compelling voice in contemporary American letters. Known for his novels and short stories, he has also been a prolific essayist for publications such as Harper’s Magazine and the New Yorker, as well as a popular commentator on NPR’s Fresh Air. In Gritos, Gilb collects some of his finest works of nonfiction. Spanning twenty years of output, the entries are divided into four sections: “Culture Crossing,” “Cortés and Malinche,” “The Writing Life,” and “Working Life and La Family.” Tackling everything from cockfighting to Cormac McCarthy, Gritos offers a startling portrait of an artist—and a Mexican American—working to find his place in both the literary world and the world at large, to say nothing of his strange and beloved borderland of Texas. While “Dagoberto Gilb might be speaking for himself . . . he speaks so well that what he says becomes universal” (Houston Chronicle). “[Gritos] is a collection about prejudice and pride, told with the flair of a storyteller known for his fiction. . . . [Gilb’s] prose is easy-flowing and thoughtful. He can be unbelievably funny. . . . What he has to say and how he says it is so interesting, you can’t help but pay attention.” —Marta Barber, The Miami Herald “An arresting essayist, he is unabashedly himself, and his zest for life, passion for illuminating Mexican American culture, and seductive storytelling skills infuse his astute observations, reminiscences, and critiques with compelling energy and momentum.” —Booklist