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Some interesting people, to say the least, inhabit Brownsville, Texas, a small town standing on the border of Mexico. Thereıs 31-year-old Bony who is unemployed and still living with his parents. Bony has had a few jobs but none that that he believes fit him. His parents are always on him to find a job and to stop drinking beer. Bony is not happy with his life and the only one who he can talk to and understands him is his best friend, Chango. The fact that Chango is just the head of a monkey that was left in the yard one night doesnıt bother Bony much but his parents arenıt too happy with it. RG also lives in Brownsville. RG is a nice enough guy who is always there to help others in the community. One day he loans his hammer out to his Anglo neighbor, Bannert and patiently waits for it to be returned. Itıs a good thing RG has a lot of patience because four years later heıs still waiting for the hammer. Jerry Fuentes calls Brownsville his home too. According to his cousin, you would be wise not to open the door if Jerry ever comes knocking. Jerry is a somewhat slimy salesman and will somehow convince and shame you into letting go of your last hard-earned dollar. Then thereıs Domingo. Heıs an old man who lives in Brownsville and survives by dreaming about the next time he will go back to Mexico to see his wife. Domingo lost his faith in God when his daughter died 21 years earlier but now, in the later years of his life, he is trying to find God again so he can see his daughter on her birthday. BROWNSVILLE: STORIES is the debut collection of short stories by Oscar Casares. The collection contains nine stories separated into three parts. At first some of the stories seem strange like the one about the monkey head, Chango. But Casares does a wonderful job of tilting your sense of reality so that after reading a few paragraphs, you kind of understand whatıs going on. By the end of the story, talking to a monkey head seems -- almost natural. Casares fills his stories with wonderful characters. They are realistic, three-dimensional fully developed people whose personalities and quirks will make you feel as if you personally know them. All the stories are warm and funny. As you read itıs easy to visualize each person and their situation. Reading a Casares story is like listening to a good storyteller. He creates the people and locations so well that the reader canıt help but be drawn inside the pages of the story. Itıs a wonderful shared experience. Oscar Casares is a new and talented writer. I hope to read much more of his work in the future. His stories of the people in this Texas town are straight forward and brilliant gems, well worth reading.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, May 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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