Rating: 
Summary: Exhausting
Review: The book seemed tiring, drawn out, depressing and pointless. Without much of a plot, more like a 'day in the life', I was hoping for character studies woven into the northern New Mexico culture and lifestyle, but couldn't get past the pointless, helpless, hopeless, and frankly disturbing actions and interactions of these folks. (Maybe that in itself was the point) Perhaps symbolic, the constant barrage of dead, dying, maimed and killed animals was disturbing and distracting. Good commentary on Anglo vs Hispanic, rich vs poor, yuppies vs locals, past vs present, but the book simply WORE ME OUT!
Rating: 
Summary: Wholy Pacheco's Pig
Review: There is one thing about the Milagro Beanfiled War.... You cannot put it down. I have lived in Northern New Mexico for most of my life, and there is no written word that comes close to the people here except for the Milagro Beanfield War. I must say that growing up in a small Northern NM town, I have seen most of this story first hand (I went to school with the young versions of these characters). This is such a comedic book, I feel off the couch several times laughing so hard it hurt. If you have seen the movie, you need to read the book. The movie does not do justice to the female characters (especially Mercedes Real and Ruby - queen of plumbing). For some reason right now, every time I walk down to the little country store, I feel that I should be bombarded with little white pebbles, one at a time - coming from Mercedes who is in her 60's. Once into the first 30 pages (and you can't stop)...the essence of Northern NM is alive and well. Cleofes (hold on tight when you read about him), a simple lonely (rumored to be cursed by the superstitious town) had a dog named Pendejo (if you don't know what it means, you can look it up) and one day, his beloved dog, Pendejo died. Years later he was lonely and he heard the excited barks of Pendejo coming for a certain spot in his yard. He digs and digs (while the town watches, sells chairs to watch the digging, ect...) and you learn a little about the simplistic lives in Northern NM. Just remember Herbie, poor Herbie (the peaceful hippy volunteer that came to Milagro) to "tech them things," and instead he winds up with...well... a strange story including .38 caliber, 2 skunks, losing his guitar, hummingbirds, ants, flying ants, bees, sunflower (the horse), Pacheco's Pig, ect... I am not a big reader (it takes me awhile to get through books) and this one took me a whole 2 days. My advice is if you get this book, have a whole day in which you can devote to, otherwise you will not be able to get anything done (like irrigating the field, try to overturn the bulldozer, drive a backhoe over the Rio Grande Gorge {800 feet deep}, find Pacheco's pig, listen to all the phone conversations, learn about the VISTA Volunteer, the Smokey the bear Santo riot, and so on and so on) In this version of the book, avoid the author's afterward.... It is an advertisement for his other books and does not contribute what so ever to the book... it subtracts quite a bit.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: This book tells the struggle of a lower-class New Mexico town of Native Americans as it tries to regain back lost land and, inevitably, a heritage. It begins with the farmer Joe Mondragon, as he proceeds to irrigate one of his fields, contrary to regulation. The characters are vibrant and alive, and even though I could not sympathize with their plight, I felt sympathetic towards them.
This book is laugh-out-loud funny. I read this book for the first time a few years ago; in a waiting room I couldn?t stop laughing and I got a few stares from some other people. But its a book that you won?t forget; each time I read it, I come away with something new, something that makes me think ?aha...? And I always feel as if I have read it for the first time, even though I know what will happen. Its a wonderful innovation of characters and plot that always keeps me turning pages.
There are some characters in this book that you simply cannot put out of your mind. There is, of course, Joe Mondragon, the farmer who irrigates his field. I also loved Pacheco?s pig, who keeps destroying everybody?s crops. Also memorable is Mercedes Real, Harlan Betchel?s crazy mother, who keeps pelting the people of the towns with stones, and Herbie Goldfarb, the VISTA volunteer from New York who fits in to this rustic life about as well as a cactus would in the steppes of Russia. I guarantee that this will be a book that you will treasure.
Rating:
Summary: wow!!!!!! amazingly well written
Review: This book was fantastic, after the first 30 pages I was hooked and found it hard to put down, the book is packed with humor and is very well written even with the numerous characters in the book it was not too difficult to remember all them as the author kept switching back to them to keep thier storyline fresh in your mind .....great book
Rating:
Summary: The Karl Marx Brothers in Nuevo Mexico
Review: This is a truly enjoyable book, a fun read full of interesting, quirky characters, revealed in a mini class-war. The peace-loving agrarians of Milagro find themselves oppressed by the city slickers & suits who draw up water-compacts & grazing regulations. Slowly, but certainly, they're being squeezed off their ancestral lands, having their buccolic lifestyle eroded by the landed, the government, and the wealthy. But this is not a grim, revolutionary novel, full of dogma and bloodshed. It's a tale of a bunch of characters, who really just want to be left alone, backed against the wall and making their last stand. Who couldn't cheer for Cleofas or Joe Mondragon? Who doesn't want to drop El Zopilote into the Rio Grande with cement shoes? The protagonists seduce you into their stories, and their enemies are disgusting precisely because they are so removed, because they are so ordinary, so boring. Nichols demonstrates to us that authentic people work the land, work their jobs, lead their lives, and that their lives are worthy of storytelling. In our dominator culture, the wealthy are the powerful. Their lives, while pampered & protected, are dull, uninteresting. We only care about them when our heroes stop bending over for them and say "enough is enough." Look deeply within yourself & see just how much of Joe Mondragon you carry. Now, log off the internet & see if you can live a life worthy of Milagro. Five stars for characterization. Five stars of making a tired plot (underdogs vs. oppressors) so much fun. Five stars for a gentle, funny read that worms its way into your heart. (If you'd like to comment on this review, click on the "about me" link above & email me. Thanks!)
Rating:
Summary: The Karl Marx Brothers in Nuevo Mexico
Review: This is a truly enjoyable book, a fun read full of interesting, quirky characters, revealed in a mini class-war. The peace-loving agrarians of Milagro find themselves oppressed by the city slickers & suits who draw up water-compacts & grazing regulations. Slowly, but certainly, they're being squeezed off their ancestral lands, having their buccolic lifestyle eroded by the landed, the government, and the wealthy. But this is not a grim, revolutionary novel, full of dogma and bloodshed. It's a tale of a bunch of characters, who really just want to be left alone, backed against the wall and making their last stand. Who couldn't cheer for Cleofas or Joe Mondragon? Who doesn't want to drop El Zopilote into the Rio Grande with cement shoes? The protagonists seduce you into their stories, and their enemies are disgusting precisely because they are so removed, because they are so ordinary, so boring. Nichols demonstrates to us that authentic people work the land, work their jobs, lead their lives, and that their lives are worthy of storytelling. In our dominator culture, the wealthy are the powerful. Their lives, while pampered & protected, are dull, uninteresting. We only care about them when our heroes stop bending over for them and say "enough is enough." Look deeply within yourself & see just how much of Joe Mondragon you carry. Now, log off the internet & see if you can live a life worthy of Milagro. Five stars for characterization. Five stars of making a tired plot (underdogs vs. oppressors) so much fun. Five stars for a gentle, funny read that worms its way into your heart. (If you'd like to comment on this review, click on the "about me" link above & email me. Thanks!)
Rating:
Summary: Overkill on the sarcastic innuendo. Diarrhea of the pen
Review: This is just an all around fun story. Lots of details that make it come alive. The characters are so interesting I wanted more of them. He does a great job describing the town. The plot and subplots keep you interested through out the full book. It is just a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Much Better Then The Movie
Review: This is just an all around fun story. Lots of details that make it come alive. The characters are so interesting I wanted more of them. He does a great job describing the town. The plot and subplots keep you interested through out the full book. It is just a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: An Infectious Good Time
Review: To be the 4000th reviewer of this book and to say something worthwhile is a challenge. However, Mr. Nichols is having such a good time writing this book that his enthusiasm for the characters and his humor are infectious in a good way. He faces several challenges. In the first third of the book, the author has to populate the stage with a whole town full of interesting characters. He does this by scattered anecdotes about each of them that give the reader a flavor for the persons, and their interactions with other characters. During this time, the reader does wonder where all this is going, since the story line seems a bit fractured. Mr. Nichols does do a masterful job of creating a whole town for you. Then in the middle third of the book, the characters begin to be involved with the main thrust of the book. The last part of the book, the characters really begin to move around and a partial resolution of sorts occurs. Many authors work hard to create a single believable character. Mr. Nichols does this for a whole town, and is to be praised for that. The book is very funny but my criticism is that it is mainly situational humor, such as in a Bugs Bunny cartoon or a "sitcom" on television. The humor in the language is limited and is mainly ribald or in the use of Spanish words. My other criticism is his extreme use of the run-on sentence style. My English teacher would have failed me for such sentences! Granted, it puts a lot of information before you and moves the story along. However, whole sentences ramble into paragraphs. These are minor criticisms. If you relax and "go with the flow", it is good fun and may show you a new perspective on land development and water rights in the Southwest also.
Rating:
Summary: An Infectious Good Time
Review: To be the 4000th reviewer of this book and to say something worthwhile is a challenge. However, Mr. Nichols is having such a good time writing this book that his enthusiasm for the characters and his humor are infectious in a good way. He faces several challenges. In the first third of the book, the author has to populate the stage with a whole town full of interesting characters. He does this by scattered anecdotes about each of them that give the reader a flavor for the persons, and their interactions with other characters. During this time, the reader does wonder where all this is going, since the story line seems a bit fractured. Mr. Nichols does do a masterful job of creating a whole town for you. Then in the middle third of the book, the characters begin to be involved with the main thrust of the book. The last part of the book, the characters really begin to move around and a partial resolution of sorts occurs. Many authors work hard to create a single believable character. Mr. Nichols does this for a whole town, and is to be praised for that. The book is very funny but my criticism is that it is mainly situational humor, such as in a Bugs Bunny cartoon or a "sitcom" on television. The humor in the language is limited and is mainly ribald or in the use of Spanish words. My other criticism is his extreme use of the run-on sentence style. My English teacher would have failed me for such sentences! Granted, it puts a lot of information before you and moves the story along. However, whole sentences ramble into paragraphs. These are minor criticisms. If you relax and "go with the flow", it is good fun and may show you a new perspective on land development and water rights in the Southwest also.
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