The West was always described as a place where anything was possible, and Los Angeles was the heart of that promise. Alejandro Morales introduces two very different families, and an unpredictable river, to tell of the promise and allure of Southern California, where the unexpected is the norm, where names tell a hidden story.
From these two families of bridge builders emerges a story of interconnectedness, a unique system of relations linking both sides of the river. Through the Rivers and the Kellers’ families, we enter a multi-cultural sphere of darkness and despair juxtaposed with hope and joy; times of violent discrimination contrasted with loving acceptance. Although these two families come from different backgrounds — ethnic, social, and linguistic — their lives and fortunes become inextricably linked through their children, whose illicit love affair leads to tragedy, their families infected, wrenched apart by racism and the pseudo-science of eugenics propounded during the 1950s.
River of Angels is a richly detailed look at those who have lived on both sides of the river: Native people, Europeans, Latinos, blacks, and Asians, people making their home in the West, sojourners in need of bridges of understanding. Acclaimed novelist Alejandro Morales excavates the layered history of Los Angeles in this stirring epic of love, loss, sin and redemption.
“A compelling, evocative portrait of two very different families…Alejandro Morales skillfully illuminates racial, cultural, political and economic tensions that can be found today in virtually any other American city, whether a river runs through it or not.”—Books, Books, & More (New) Books
“Readers learn of the many ways in which Mexicans helped create the Los Angeles of today, and gain insights into the sting of racism that, unfortunately, continues to this present time. A copy of River of Angels should be in every public and academic library.”—You Decide: Should I Read it or Not?
ALEJANDRO MORALES is the author of several novels published in the United States and Mexico, including Little Nation and Other Stories (Arte Público Press, 2014), River of Angels (Arte Público Press, 2014), Hombres de ladrillo (Arte Público Press, 2010), The Brick People (Arte Público Press, 1992),The Rag Doll Plagues (Arte Público Press, 1992) and River of Angels (Arte Público Press, 2014). The Captain of All These Men of Death (2006) was published by Bilingual Review Press. Morales was born in Montebello, California. He received an AA degree from East Los Angeles College, a BA degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and an MA and doctoral degree in Spanish from Rutgers University. He is now a professor in the Chicano/Latino Studies Program in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Irvine. He lives in Santa Ana, California, with his family.
Learn more by visiting his faculty page.
