Multicultural Book Review: Mexican-American

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Culture:  Mexican American

Book:  Martinez, Victor.  (1996). Parrot in the Oven: mi vida.  New York:  HarperCollins.

Level/Age: YA (ages 12-20)

Synopsis:  The protagonist of this book is fourteen year old Manny Hernandez.  The reader is presented with a look at his life at home, his family dynamics, his neighborhood, and the navigation of his social realm.  His father, an abusive, unemployed alcoholic, frequents the local pool hall, where he drinks away what little money the family does have.  We journey with Manny through life-shaping events of his adolescence, including the arrest of his father, an accident in the home involving a loaded rifle, bullies in his barrio, a sympathetic white teacher, the death of his grandmother, his sister’s teen pregnancy and subsequent graphic miscarriage, direct racism from white peers, and a gang initiation.  The most formative event of the novel involves the aftermath of a mugging that Manny is involved in.

Comparisons/Contrasts with traditional American/Western culture:  Locke writes (150), “Damaging stereotypes, such as Mexicans being lazy, passive, and failure-oriented, have been reinforced by society and the media.”  In this novel, Manny’s father and brother fit this stereotype, and as such perpetuate it.  In certain scenes however, the author paints a clear and accurate picture of the racism faced by Mexican Americans in the dominant American culture.  Locke writes (153):  “…they are the underclass on whom others look down; they are disproportionally underpaid, uneducated, unacculturated, and unwanted.”  In one scene, Manny and his brother Nardo take a day job picking chilies.  Immigration officials show up and do a sweep, taking many Mexicans into custody.  One man tottered back into the field after the sweep, and Manny thinks, “At first I thought maybe he’d gotten away, but then someone recognized him and laughed, “Hey Joe, you’re not a wetback.  You’re a bracero.””  (According to Wikipedia:  “Wetback is a derogatory term used in the United States for non-American foreigners, commonly Mexican citizens, especially to those who have illegal immigration status in the U.S….Generally used as an ethnic slur”  (www.wikipedia.org).  In contrast, a bracero is a Latin American migratory worker, with at least temporary legal immigration status.)

Response:  I felt that the character of Manny Hernandez was not fleshed out.  He never took on human form for me.  Each scene in his life seemed to happen to him, but he never happened to it.  There was a lack of reaction or internal dialogue in the character of Manny.  Many powerful events happened, such as his sister’s miscarriage, and he had limited emotional reaction.  This event, like others, was described in detail, but not brought to life.  The back cover synopsis describes Manny as wanting to be a vato firme, the kind of guy people respect, and wanting to decide what happens to his own life, and yet one could read the first 212 pages of this 216 page book and not come away with this conclusion, as he effectively comes across as a passive bystander in his own life story.

Suggested Extension Activities:  This could possibly be used for a study of character development, or a study of adolescent struggles in various cultures.  Even though I didn’t connect with the protagonist, I would definitely feature this book in displays for Hispanic Heritage Month (mid-September to mid-October), and start a dialogue with my patrons who check it out, to see if they can provide me perspective that I may be missing.