Every Night Is Ladies' Night: Stories
by Michael Jaime-Becerra
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael Jaime-BecerraEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-01
ISBN: 0060559632
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of Every Night Is Ladies' Night: Stories
Book Review: Outstanding Debut
Summary: 5 Stars
This debut collection of ten interconnected short stories revolves around the inhabitants of El Monte, a blue-collar Los Angles suburb best known for a 1995 sweatshop raid that raised awareness of the plight of indentured workers within American borders. Los Angeles occupies such a large place in American popular culture and myth that stories of its surroundings tend to be overshadowed -- but with these marvelous stories, the reader is offered a dramatic view of one such place. About 12 miles east of downtown LA, El Monte is a largely Hispanic community of 115,000 people clustered around the intersection of the 5 and 605 and Southern Pacific railway. Like Oscar Casares' excellent stories about Hispanic-American Texas in Brownsville and and Sandro Meallet's great debut novel Edgewater Angels, about the San Pedro area of LA, Jamie-Becerra has captured the everyday people and everyday dramas of El Monte with great skill, subtlety, and heart. Unfortunately, the book seem to have been missed by the general public and consigned to the Hispanic-lit ghetto, which is a big shame.
The stories are mostly set in 1984-89, with one diversion back to 1956, and one story which switches back and forth between the late 1989 and 1940s. Characters come and go throughout the stories, and it takes a very good memory to keep track of them all -- I'll try to make most of the connections here. The possible linchpin (if there is one), is an auto repair shop run by an old Anglo named Georgie. The fifth story, "Georgie and Wanda" goes back to 1956 to tell about Georgie's career as a stock-car driver and wooing of the Mexican beauty queen who becomes his wife. One of Georgie's mechanics at the garage is the subject of the third story, "The Corrido of Hector Cruz". Set in 1984, it's one of the more social-realist stories, as the hardworking man and his pregnant wife Mini are suddenly faced with providing a home for their nephew Lencho, who is coming out of juvenile detention. Five years after getting a job at Georgie's garage with his uncle, Lencho is the focus of the sixth story, "Riding with Lencho." Fellow mechanic Manny narrates, as he and Lencho take a road trip to the Baja coast to take a break from Lencho's problems with his girlfriend Josie. Hector and Mini come back in the last story, "Buena Suerte Airlines", another social-realist story focusing on the couple's money problems and Mini's decision to go back to work at McDonald's.
Another set of interrelated people include teenage Gina and her boyfriend Max who are introduced in the slight 1987 story "Practice Tattoos," narrated by Gina's little brother. The couple reappears two years later in "Gina and Max", as they take a bus crosstown to go to a Christmas party thrown by Max's friend Benny. This Benny turns out to be a rather dark and nasty dude who runs with some cholos, and the party takes a rather uncomfortable turn. However, Benny's better side can be seen in "La Fiesta Brava", also set in 1989. This story is mostly about Guillermo, his electronics repairman father, and his godmother Marta. However, when bullies come looking for Guillermo, Marta's boyfriend Benny gets involved with rather surprising results.
One of the best stories is "Every Night is Ladies Night", about an ice-cream truck lady named Lily. A single mother, she lives with her tia Ruby, and embarks on a sweet romance with her boss. One of their dates is at a party thrown by Oscar's cousin Lupe and his girlfriend Evelyn. The story of their impending marriage and Evelyn's long absent grandfather is the basis of "Lopez Trucking Incorporated." Lily's Tia Ruby is the subject of a quest in what most will regard as the shining star of the collection, "Media Vuelta", a story about an elderly mariachi player who makes his first trip to the U.S. after his wife dies. With nothing else to live for, he's trying to track down the girl he loved as a youth and lost. With limited funds and no English, he makes his way to El Monte, where, with the sketchy help of Lencho, tracks Ruby down.
Jaime-Becerra is a huge talent, vividly portraying the little dramas and oddities of daily life in Hispanic Southern California. At the same time he captures something of what it means to be part of the working poor in this country, and the struggle to stay out of poverty. The stories are determinedly multigenerational and the first person narration draws the reader into the family lives of his characters. The language is dead on (although those without any Spanish, such as myself, may miss a few lines here or there that are rendered in Spanish), and he's got a nice eye for description. This is a first-class debut, and I can't wait to read more from him.
Summary of Every Night Is Ladies' Night: Stories
With a cast of characters so vivid they seem to leap from the page, this collection of linked short stories offers a portrait of individuals aching to find their place in an indifferent world. The characters who inhabit these stories -- teenagers, beauty queens, race car drivers, and even grandfathers -- fall in love, strive to make ends meet, or search for answers to their future while reconciling the past. Michael Jaime-Becerra casts a warm glow on each of them.
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