Aaron Michael Morales is getting some well-deserved attention for his new novel: Drowning Tucson. His novel is a fragmented narrative that takes a tough look at our society through the lens of characters that are trapped in worlds that are not always of their own making. He doesn’t give into the lie that we are actually in charge of our own lives. But he doesn’t fall into the trap of making his characters out to be victims either. What I really love about Aaron’s book is his refusal to romanticize about the Mexican-American experience and his refusal, too, to make his characters paragons of virtue. They’re not. Aaron’s writing is tough minded and disciplined. This novel isn’t for the faint of heart. Most good novels aren’t.
Please, read an excerpt of Aaron's novel and enjoy.
"Carmella Santiago begged her husband not to pull the trigger. But when he did, she fell in love with him all over again.
The mob outside the courthouse, the very next day, had fallen in love with her husband too. They had all watched him, on live television, walk straight up to the man being escorted into the courtroom by six sheriff’s deputies. The accused shuffled down the hall, his shackles confining his footsteps to an awkward trot. He wore a bulletproof vest and held his head low with his hands cuffed together—as if in prayer—attempting to hide his face but really only obscuring his chin. Cameras flashed, reporters shoved microphones in front of him, but he only pushed onward while the deputies shooed the cameras and microphones away as if they were a swarm of flying ants. And there, in the chaos of newsmen and law enforcement officers, Alejandro Santiago came into the frame of the television, walking up to the accused and pulling out his gun, raising it slowly, deliberately, and the deputies didn’t even react—who would think of pulling a gun in a courthouse?—and the accused looked up just as the deputies began to process the scene in front of them and Alejandro clenched his teeth and pulled the trigger and the back of the accused’s head exploded all over the deputies and the fuzzy microphones and the reporters and cameras and Alejandro let the gun drop from his hands and held out his wrists and by then the deputies finally grasped what had just occurred so they wrestled Alejandro to the ground and cuffed him and took him into custody amidst the screams of women and the stampede of frenzied people toward the exit, terrified and uncertain of what had just happened."
This is an interview on the NBCC website about Aaron's book. Also, you can read a review about Drowning Tucson on the Bookslut portal and a synopses on Powell's Books website. I've also included a link to the Poets & Writers article, where they chose Drowning Tucson as one of the top five debut fiction books of 2010.
Please, read an excerpt of Aaron's novel and enjoy.
Ice Cream
"Carmella Santiago begged her husband not to pull the trigger. But when he did, she fell in love with him all over again.
The mob outside the courthouse, the very next day, had fallen in love with her husband too. They had all watched him, on live television, walk straight up to the man being escorted into the courtroom by six sheriff’s deputies. The accused shuffled down the hall, his shackles confining his footsteps to an awkward trot. He wore a bulletproof vest and held his head low with his hands cuffed together—as if in prayer—attempting to hide his face but really only obscuring his chin. Cameras flashed, reporters shoved microphones in front of him, but he only pushed onward while the deputies shooed the cameras and microphones away as if they were a swarm of flying ants. And there, in the chaos of newsmen and law enforcement officers, Alejandro Santiago came into the frame of the television, walking up to the accused and pulling out his gun, raising it slowly, deliberately, and the deputies didn’t even react—who would think of pulling a gun in a courthouse?—and the accused looked up just as the deputies began to process the scene in front of them and Alejandro clenched his teeth and pulled the trigger and the back of the accused’s head exploded all over the deputies and the fuzzy microphones and the reporters and cameras and Alejandro let the gun drop from his hands and held out his wrists and by then the deputies finally grasped what had just occurred so they wrestled Alejandro to the ground and cuffed him and took him into custody amidst the screams of women and the stampede of frenzied people toward the exit, terrified and uncertain of what had just happened."
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If you want to know more about this up and coming young writer, please visit the following links.This is an interview on the NBCC website about Aaron's book. Also, you can read a review about Drowning Tucson on the Bookslut portal and a synopses on Powell's Books website. I've also included a link to the Poets & Writers article, where they chose Drowning Tucson as one of the top five debut fiction books of 2010.
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