Description

Book Synopsis

Million Dollar Baby meets The Brief Life of Oscar Wao

Liborio has to leave Mexico, a land that has taught him little more than a keen instinct for survival. He crosses the Rio Bravo, like so many others, to reach the promised land. And in a barrio like any other, in some gringo city, this illegal immigrant tells his story. As Liborio narrates his memories we discover a childhood scarred by malnutrition and abandonment, a youth during which he has nothing to lose. In his new home, he finds a job at a bookstore, where of all places he begins to doubt the usefulness of words. He falls in love with a woman so intensely that his fantasies of her verge on obsession. And, finally, he finds himself on a path that just might save him: he becomes a boxer.
Liborio's story is constructed in a dazzling language that reflects the particular culture of border towns and expresses both resistance and fascination. This is a migrants' story of deracination, loneliness, fear, and, finally, love a thoroughly contemporary take on the picaresque novel told in sparkling, innovative prose.

The Gringo Champion

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    A Paperback / softback by Aura Xilonen

    £11.39

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    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Mon 19 Oct 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Europa Editions
      Published 2 February 2017
      ISBN-13 9781609453657
      978-1609453657
      ISBN-10 1609453654

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Million Dollar Baby meets The Brief Life of Oscar Wao

      Liborio has to leave Mexico, a land that has taught him little more than a keen instinct for survival. He crosses the Rio Bravo, like so many others, to reach the promised land. And in a barrio like any other, in some gringo city, this illegal immigrant tells his story. As Liborio narrates his memories we discover a childhood scarred by malnutrition and abandonment, a youth during which he has nothing to lose. In his new home, he finds a job at a bookstore, where of all places he begins to doubt the usefulness of words. He falls in love with a woman so intensely that his fantasies of her verge on obsession. And, finally, he finds himself on a path that just might save him: he becomes a boxer.
      Liborio's story is constructed in a dazzling language that reflects the particular culture of border towns and expresses both resistance and fascination. This is a migrants' story of deracination, loneliness, fear, and, finally, love a thoroughly contemporary take on the picaresque novel told in sparkling, innovative prose.

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