Gurba writes the personal and political with invigorating conviction ... This voice is so strong that it can threaten to obscure the truth. Some exchanges from her past are written with almost fictional simplicity ... And for all her humor, Gurba’s jokes — of which she is rarely the butt — belie a fundamental self-seriousness, directing the reader’s gaze away from her most compelling character: herself ... oth her earnestness and the urgent pulse of the material make for a narrative that is less certain and more tender. To read Gurba at her best is to feel both the triumph of defiant self-regard as well as the soft contours of the striving it takes to acquire, preserve and restore.
Outstanding ... A tender and beautiful ode to her Mexican and Mexican-American heritage ... Each piece is layered and rich. Gurba skillfully captures how all the concerns she examines here intersect. It will challenge readers in all the right ways to reconsider assumptions and biases, to scrutinize American systems and structures, and to rethink how vulnerability, power, pride and dread are expressed and analyzed. Gurba is a force to be reckoned with.
Gurba’s lyrical prose forces us to face the sexism, racism, homophobia, and other systems of oppression that allow some Americans to get away with murder while the rest of us live in constant fear. Every piece is rife with well-timed humor and surprising conclusions, many of which come from the author's staggering command of history. Profoundly insightful, thoroughly researched, incredibly inventive, and laugh-out-loud funny, this book is a masterpiece of wit and vulnerability. A truly exceptional essay collection about safety, fear, and power.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
