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Endorsements
"In
bare and muscular prose, American Son deftly seduces with this
emotional yet unsentimental coming-of-age journey."
--Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of
an American People
Reviews
"Brian Ascalon Roley's first novel
seems to bear some of the marks of a creative writing workshop
production -- the spare present-tense sentences, the rather small cast
of characters -- yet Roley not only transcends these limitations but
turns them to his advantage. His attention to detail and his
understanding of his complicated, and complicating, characters suggest
that he knows what he's talking about. It is this confidence that makes
the reader willing to inhabit the ugly world of racism exposed in
''American Son.''...Roley's narrative choices seem deliberate rather
than a matter of an inadequate stylistic repertory or paucity of
imagination. The calm sentences suggest Gabe's isolation and relative
passivity; the family's interactions demonstrate how bigotry affects the
most intimate relations, and Gabe's uncertain voice seems a symptom of a
precarious identity. The patience with which Roley builds the story from
carefully chosen pieces is his main asset; the painful process of
understanding race becomes palpable. The patience is rewarding for the
reader as well: ''American Son'' is a gripping book."
--New York Times
(click
here to read the full review)
"Hard-hitting
and brash, this debut novel takes a cold, clear-eyed look at the
American immigrant experience. Come home, urges Uncle Betino in a letter
from Manila at the beginning of Roley's tale. But Betino's sister Ika,
divorced from her American husband and living in the U.S. with her two
sons born in the Philippines, believes even the harsh struggle to
survive in California is better than living under the strict caste
system of her homeland. One of her boys, Tomas, has assumed the persona
of a young Mexican street thug and is helping her make ends meet by
raising and selling guard dogs to rich clients. His brother, Gabe, the
story's narrator and the good son, seeks to understand the mysteries of
his adopted country. Roley uses the familiar Cain-and-Abel approach to
illustrate the occasionally vicious tug of wills between the two youths,
whose relationship is being slowly altered by the outside forces of the
alien American culture. Formerly deemed a mama's boy, Gabe runs away,
stealing his brother's prized Oldsmobile and best dog, trying to escape
his brother's growing influence. It's not long before he is back home,
ashamed and ready to submit to the will of both his brother and America.
His mother looks on sadly as both of her boys are swallowed up by the
American dream and the promise of the prosperous life at all costs.
Despite rare lulls in the plot and an occasional glitch in the novel's
overall strong structure, this is a powerhouse story of vulnerable
strangers in a brutal, alien land told with stylish restraint,
bare-knuckled realism and tender yet tough clarity."
--Publishers Weekly
"In his debut novel, Roley details the Filipino immigrant
experience through the troubled relationship between two brothers and
their struggle to assimilate into the culture of Southern California.
Gabe, the younger of the two, serves as his family's peacemaker,
struggling to maintain good grades while hiding brother Tomas' dangerous
activities from his mother. Tomas has adopted the Mexican gangster style
of dress and breeds attack dogs that he sells to the Hollywood
celebrities who inhabit the fringes of their lives. When Gabe runs away
to Northern California, he finds temporary solace in the kindness of
strangers: the tow truck driver whose chatty nature belies his own
hidden pain; the tart-tongued diner waitress who has family problems of
her own. However, when Gabe returns home, he must face the consequences
from the increasingly violent Tomas. Roley never judges his characters
but rather shows the pain and anger that propel their actions. His
clipped and poetic style serves the novel well, and readers will be
compelled to follow this tale to its violent and ambiguous conclusion.
--Booklist
"Roley writes with assurance, grace and insight, and he plays
expertly with our perceptions and expectations....explosive and
illuminating."
--Los Angeles Times
Full Description
A powerful novel about ethnically fluid
California, and the corrosive relationship between two Filipino
brothers. Told with a hard-edged purity that brings to mind Cormac
McCarthy and Denis Johnson, American Son is the story of two
Filipino brothers adrift in contemporary California. The older brother,
Tomas, fashions himself into a Mexican gangster and breeds pricey attack
dogs, which he trains in German and sells to Hollywood celebrities. The
narrator is younger brother Gabe, who tries to avoid the tar pit of
Tomas's waywardness, yet moves ever closer to embracing it. Their
mother, who moved to America to escape the caste system of Manila and is
now divorced from their American father, struggles to keep her sons in
line while working two dead-end jobs. When Gabe runs away, he brings
shame and unforeseen consequences to the family. Full of the ache of
being caught in a violent and alienating world, American Son is a
debut novel that captures the underbelly of the modern immigrant
experience.
Foreign
Sales: France
World
Rights: Contact Lukeman
Dramatic Rights:
Contact Lukeman
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