George Washington Gomez: A Mexicotexan Novel

Rating:
Summary: A pivotal read in Texican American literature
Review: Most readers know Americo Paredes as the great folklorist that he was. Because his book George Washington Gomez was not published in the late 1930's when Paredes wrote it, only a rough draft version was released shortly before he died.

To me, this version of Texas historical fiction along the valley border presents a side to Mexican American settlement that few other books reveal. I find Paredes' story powerful and well worth reading.

Gualinto, little George Washington Gomez, is the American born son of his illegal immigrant parents; his father is an outlaw of some notoriety. The birth name his parents give him symbolizes their hope that he will become the leader of his people in America. But their hopes take a big detour as this little boy grows up in fictional Jonesville as a spoiled only son in a matriarchal household. With his father dead, the only strong male role for Gualinto is his reformed outlaw uncle.

Gualinto suffers the insults and taunts of growing up as a member of the poor and powerless society of South Texas. His family is subjected to the cruelities of racist Anglos, including the unattractive side of El Renche, the Texas Rangers. Even in an all Mexican American school for children, Gualinto is embarrassed and punished for his lack of academic accomplishment by the spinster Mexican American teacher . Those classroom scenes remind one of the cruelties found in Tom Brown's School Days and the writings of Charles Dickens.

Surrounded by love at home, treated kindly by some of the Jonesville citizenry, insulated from the cruelities exacted on his sisters who do not adhere to their mother's demands, Gualinto grows to adolescence and a time of continued social positioning that often leads to rejection.

The values that Gualinto develops reflect his survival in the South Texas that is his home. When he heroically departs the community to gain that all important college education, he also departs from the hoped for role his parents once projected. In the end, his story is one of betrayal and tragedy, but not unrealistic.

From having my senior Hispanic students read Gomez, I experienced feedback that was invaluable. They were amazed that such a novel, telling the side of many of their people existed. Tragic or not, the novel rang true for them. I recommend this novel over and over to students, fellow teachers, and readers. It offers an eye-opening view of another side of the South Texas story.

Rating:
Summary: Very Poorly Written
Review: This book is very poorly written. There are a number of flash backs that if my teacher hadn't pointed out, no one would have that it was a flash back. The ending is also terrible. Only read this book if you have to much time on your hands.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not great.
Review: This book was okay. It was a first draft, and therefore it wasn't edited. I thought that it was historically accurate, and I liked the book up until the ending for its detail, imagery, and language. There was no correlation between the ending and the story, however. You can't skip about 4 - 8 years, and show a guy completely pro-Mexican and anti-gringo suddenly change into a man that lives with those he once hated, and scorns that which he once loved so much. That may be how the story in real life would have ended, but I personally don't like the idea of filling in all the details. I would have preferred to read an extra 100 - 200 pages to find out how Gualinto became who he became. Although I was disappointed in the last 20 pages, I was impressed by the 280 preceding it, so I gave the book 3 stars.