River of Angels - Softcover

Morales, Alejandro

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1558857753 ISBN 13: 9781558857759

Publisher: Arte Publico Press, 2014

Synopsis

The West was a place where anything was possible, and Los Angeles was the heart of that promise. Alejandro Morales introduces two very different families and an unpredictable river to explore the allure of Southern California and the history of Los Angeles.
From these two families of bridge builders emerges a story of interconnectedness, a unique system of relations linking both sides of the river. Through the Rivers and the Kellers' families, we enter a multi-cultural sphere of darkness and despair juxtaposed with hope and joy; times of violent discrimination contrasted with loving acceptance. Although these two families come from different backgrounds ethnic, social, and linguistic their lives and fortunes become inextricably linked through their children, whose illicit love affair leads to tragedy, their families infected, wrenched apart by racism and the pseudo-science of eugenics propounded during the 1950s.
River of Angels is a richly detailed look at those who have lived on both sides of the river: Native people, Europeans, Latinos, blacks, and Asians, people making their home in the West, sojourners in need of bridges of understanding. Acclaimed novelist Alejandro Morales excavates the layered history of Los Angeles in this stirring epic of love, loss, sin and redemption.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

The West was a place where dreams could come true, and in this epic novel Alejandro Morales introduces two very different families and an unpredictable river to explore the allure of Southern California and the development of Los Angeles.

Although the Rivers and Kellers families come from different backgrounds--ethnic, class and linguistic--their lives and fortunes become inextricably linked through their children. An illicit love affair leads to tragedy as the families are victims of racism and the pseudo-scientific philosophy of eugenics, or selective breeding, proposed by those fearful of Los Angeles' diverse population in the 1920s.

River of Angels is a richly detailed look at the people who lived on both sides of the river that separated the haves from the have-nots, from the mystical and forgotten Native Americans and their mixed-blood Latino descendants to the opportunity-seeking Yankees and the African, Mexican and Asian migrants. Acclaimed novelist Alejandro Morales excavates the layered history of Los Angeles in this stirring epic of love, loss and redemption.

About the Author

ALEJANDRO MORALES, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, was born and raised in the Simons barrio in south Montebello, California. He is the author of several novels, including The Rag Doll Plagues (Arte Publico Press, 1992) and The Brick People (Arte Publico Press, 1988). His first two novels, written in Spanish, were the first to be published in Mexico by a Chicano writer.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arte Publico Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1558857753
• ISBN 13: 9781558857759
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 267