Becky and Her Friends, by Rolando Hinojosa, is the latest novel in Hinojosa’s Klail City Death Trip series which follows generations of Anglos and Mexicans in the fictional Rio Grande Valley town of Klail City, Texas.
In this novel, however, Hinojosa focuses on a character who has previously not taken the limelight: the strong-willed, upwardly mobile Becky Escobar. Following her story, Hinojosa explores the world of Latinas: women’s culture, language and spirit in the world of the Valley. Delightfully playful in narrative perspective, this story gives the reader a glimpse through the eyes of the female side of Klail City.
“Although Hinojosa’s sharp eye and accurate ear capture a place, its people and time in a masterly way, his work goes far beyond regionalism. He is a writer for all readers.”—The New York Times
“Rolando Hinojosa is one of Texas’ most remarkable writers. The Klail City Death Trap Series is one of Faulknerian dimensions.”— Dallas Times Herald
“[This book] deals with all the problems of an emerging Hispanic culture.”—Houston Chronicle
“…The Klail City Death Trip Series continues to evolve both as a criticism and a celebration; altogether the novels constitute a lovingly accurate recreation of Valley people, politics, speech, social attitudes- even the weather.”—Austin American-Statesman
ROLANDO HINOJOSA, the Ellen Clayton Garwood Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at Austin, is the author of the Klail City Death Trip Series of novels, which examine relations between Mexican Americans and Anglo Americans in the fictional Rio Grande Valley town, Klail City, Texas. He is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the most prestigious prize in Latin American fiction, Casa de las Américas, for the best Spanish American novel in 1976. Several of his novels have been translated into German, and The New York Times Book Review has compared him to William Faulkner. His books include A Voice of My Own (2011), Partners in Crime (2011), We Happy Few (2006), Ask a Policeman (1998), The Useless Servants (1993), Becky and Her Friends (1989), Dear Rafe (1985) and Rites and Witnesses (1982) all of which are published by Arte Público Press.
Learn more by visiting his faculty page.
