America Libre - Softcover

Ramos Y Sanchez, Raul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 044650775X ISBN 13: 9780446507752

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

After years of anti-immigrant backlash, anger seethes in the nation's teeming barrios. The crowded streets bristle with restless youth, idled by a deep recession. When undercover detectives in San Antonio accidentally kill a young Latina bystander during a botched drug bust, riots erupt across the Southwest. As the inner-city violence escalates, Anglo vigilantes strike back with shooting rampages. Exploiting the turmoil, a congressional demagogue succeeds in passing legislation that transforms the nation's Hispanic enclaves into walled-off Quarantine Zones. Citizens tagged Class H -- those who are Hispanic, married to a Hispanic, or have at least one grandparent of Hispanic origin -- are forced into detention centers. Amid the chaos in his L.A. barrio, Manolo Suarez is out of work and struggling to support his growing family. But under the spell of a beautiful Latina radical, the former U.S. Army Ranger and decorated war veteran finds himself questioning his loyalty to his wife -- and to his country.

About this title

About the Author

Cuban-born Raul Ramos y Sanchez grew up in Miami's cultural kaleidoscope before becoming a long-time resident of the U.S. Midwest. Ramos began the Class H Trilogy in 2004 with the input of scholars from Latin America, Spain, and the United States. A multiple award winner, the author and his work have been featured on television, radio and print media across the U.S. and abroad. 

Reviews

Sanchez's debut is a sweeping, intense novel of extremism, fear and consequences. In Los Angeles in the near future, tensions run high between Hispanics and Anglos, especially after the death of an innocent Latina bystander in Texas sparks nationwide riots. In need of a job, ex-Army Ranger Manolo Mano� Suaraz joins La Defensa del Pueblo, started by wealthy Ramon Garcia to foster Hispanic unity in the face of Anglo violence. Despite his wife's growing reservations, Mano and the group are able to turn Hispanic gangs into allies against a common enemy. As violence and fear escalate—and are manipulated—Quarantine Zones� and camps are created to segregate Hispanics from the general population. Mano, who dedicated his life to patriotism, sees his own country turn on him because of his heritage, disregarding his value as an individual. Originally self-published, Ramos y Sanchez's ambitious, cautionary tale poses questions without easy answers, but its flaw, ironically, is the lack of diversity, with all the characters being either Hispanic or Anglo. (July)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 044650775X
• ISBN 13: 9780446507752
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 373