Cogan’s Reviews In 1952, John Steinbeck won an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay of the movie, Viva Zapata! Many years later, however, a manuscript was found in UCLA Library in which it was discovered he had written extensively about his subject, other than simply the screenplay. It’s that document that makes up the major […]
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Cogan’s Reviews The simplest way to describe this novel is to say that it’s a kind of Mexican “Roots” – a big family survival saga covering three generations of two families, complete with a large cast of characters. Author Villaseñor has based his complex, sprawling tale on the experiences of his own family members and […]
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Cogan’s Reviews I wish I could say this novel was an enjoyable read but, frankly, this humble reviewer found it rather a chore getting to the end. Since finishing it, curiosity has driven me to go looking to see what other people had to say about it. And it would appear that the verdicts are […]
Continue ReadingCogan’s Reviews There have been several versions of the Zorro story since its initial appearance in 1905 in the novel The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley. My only recollection of the swashbuckling hero with the black cloak and hat and sword was decades ago when Tyrone Power was the star of a movie of the same […]
Continue ReadingCogan’s Reviews Frankly, I find this a rather lightweight collection of stories. And, as I’ve never read anything else by Garcia Marquez I’m left wondering where he got his great reputation. I guess I should get around to reading those better known works of his, like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera and […]
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Cogan’s Reviews This novel is described in several places as a classic of modern Hispanic literature and it really is a powerful book. Since it’s appearance it has been published in more than 27 editions and in several languages. The edition I just read is a Signet Classic paperback. It comes with a very useful […]
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Available from the author Life in Mexico observed by someone who is bursting with affection for his new country. I have reviewed a lot of fiction and non-fiction books for Mexico Connect, but I have been hoping to eventually discover a collection of poems written in English by an expatriate living in Mexico. Now I have […]
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Available from Amazon Books: Paperback “What can I tell you about Pedro Infante? If you’re a Mejicana or Mejicano and don’t know who he is, you should be tied to a hot stove with yucca rope and beaten with sharp dry corn husks as you stand in a vat of soggy fideos. If your racial and cultural […]
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Washing Dishes in the Ancient Village / Lavando platos en el antiguo pueblo is a collection of one-hundred short poems about Mexico and Latin America. Because I wrote this book, I do not intend to review it here but rather to recount some of the experiences I had while writing this little book. I have been […]
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100 Love Sonnets By A. S. Maulucci Lorenzo Press, 2010 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback “Well,” you might be asking, “just what does a book titled 100 Love Sonnets have to do with Mexico?” “A lot,” I might answer, “because this is a collection 100 sonnets, the first 50 of which were written after the break-up […]
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