George Washington Gomez: A Mexicotexan Novel

This was an exceptional read. I was assigned this book in my Chicano Studies course for my grad program and was taken aback by the work of Dr. Americo Paredes. I was mesmerized by the character development and caught myself believing this would be a great movie to watch. Seeing and feeling Gualinto grow into a man no one else assumed he would become. I finished the book with a deep sought rage in the pit of my stomach for George came to be. The ending was enraging and saddening and I heard myself comment and call Goerge an idiot and disgrace. Yet, I believe Americo's work served its purpose and I began to question my own heritage and whether I too shared the same fate as Gualinto...

Must read for Texas people that grew up on the border.

In my quest to read the writers who have not been adequalely recognized, I found this book. The mother of the lead character wanted to name her baby for a famous person because she knew he would help his people, thus the name George Washington Gomez. Recommend it!

The story isn't too bad; however, the writing is unbearably terrible. One often needs to re-read a paragraph many times to figure out what's going on. There are abrupt transitions all over the book with many unnecessary narration. In part one Americo Paredes literally spit out "the child was fated to a life controlled by others" right in the middle of a conversation. The entire paragraph feels so out of place and purposeless since the theme of "born an outsider" has already being highlighted in previous scenes. The readers can almost instantly know what might happen to the newborn for he was born an outsider in his homeland WITHOUT that stupid revelation. On the other hand, important scenes in the story (like the death of Gumersindo) are lacking details and descriptions: he seemed to die so abruptly after a flashback (which is also abruptly inserted) without much buildup. I guess both Parades and his editor are too lazy to even go through the original text to fix these vital flaws. Can't believe this is assigned in my college English class. Hell if the book wasn't about Mexican Texans and their struggle in American society, I wonder who will actually read it. Don't buy this book unless you want to kill yourself with its terrible narration.

The novel is great, I recommend it completely.

I read this for my "Ethnic Literature of the United States" class, and it is the best thing we've read so far. The story is engaging, and you will love the characters. Don't get me wrong, some characters you will want to hit repeatedly, but most are amazing. By the end of the book I was so invested in the main character that I wanted to strangle someone. In all, you should read it.

Even though I’m a born and raised Texan, I did not realize all the realities of the world in this book. Humanity’s inhumanity never ceases to shock.

I thought it wouldn't be that good but it's actually a decent book. It's worth the price and it's a good read!