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Always Running was required for my English 28 class, and I've got to admit that I found the book very interesting.It gave me a look into gang life in East Los Angeles and the dynamics of that lifestyle.
They are tracked to take on vocational occupations while whites and Asians are taking English Lit and Trig on the path to college. He also blames the cops for constantly targeting Mexicans and African Americans. The educational system does not provide proper courses for minorities. Luis grew up in LA being raised by a Mexican family. If we provided protection, safety and good opportunities for these kids then they would not feel the need to join gangs to gain acceptance, protection and a sense of belonging. Soon enough drugs, sex and violence come into play, and lines and territories are divided across neighborhoods. He grows up way too quickly and starts stealing and committing crimes before becoming a teen. Ultimately he ends up losing most of his friends to shootings and violent acts.
He talks about gangs as a kind of mass suicide & that's an idea that stuck with me - all these kids looking for family & hating themselves.In one of those funny moments where influences collide that can happen while reading, I kept thinking of another gang memoir that I read when I was younger. This book is on the ALA's list of 100 most frequently banned books of 1990 through 2000.This is a memoir of gang life & of growing up poor and Chicano in East LA in the '60's & 70's. For those wanting a standard tale with a classical throughline and neat conclusions, this book will disappoint.I enjoyed the author's imagery and the ways he plays with the genre of memoir. Perhaps education really is the only way out, but to get there we're going to have to spend some money & stop using our educational system to ghettoize people based on class, race, income level, & the phase of the moon on Fridays when the cat's too tired to sing.The world is a complex & beautiful place & in the end maybe only words can save us.
Like Cisneros, Rodriguez' work is full of rhythm & bright color.I liked this book a great deal, although I don't think it offers any long-term solutions to these problems. Like The Corner, David Simon's killer tome on life on a Baltimore drug corner, this book illustrates the condition. Then I turned a page & there it was - Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas - turns out Luis Rodriguez read that one, too.This book is also full of shades of Sandra Cisneros - a Chicana writer & poet whose work I've read off & on since her first book - The House on Mango Street. I could remember that the author was named Piri, but that was all.
What do we remember. It was right there on the tip of my tongue. It's also about learning who you are and finding ways out - through writing, through painting, & through social activism.Rodriguez is primarily a poet and writer of short stories & it shows in this collection of snap shots of moments from his past. I remembered that it was written by a Puerto Rican guy that grew up in Spanish Harlem & was also about all of the ways that books saved him, but I couldn't remember the name of the book.
For me so much of my memory is just what he provides - little snapshots of moments in time.From a political/social perspective, this book does a good job of elucidating the reasons kids join gangs and the possible paths out. What is memory. How do we remember it.
As a result, I found myself unable to sympathize with his plight. This book lacks depth and much-needed perspective. Overall, this book was a great disappointment. His transitions from journalistic prose to "poetic" descriptions were jarring and indulgent. The actual subject matter is interesting, and could have resulted in an incredibly powerful, insightful book. However, he stopped short every time the opportunity for reflection presented itself.
The book itself is an easy read. Very good expereince. Received the book in a very timely manner. Book was brand new.
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