Adriana E. Ramírez

Dead Boys by Adriana E. Ramirez is a short novella length exploration of death and how it all too frequently visits the young and in particular the young people of black or Hispanic heritage. The author opens with a moving account of the death of her own brother, who died in a horseback accident when he was very young, and she, his sister, was even younger. She writes about the grieving process that her family went through and we feel both her frustration at not understanding at the time what had happened but also her intention of making sense of this tragedy.

The author has lived her life in the United States, Mexico and Colombia. All these places have their histories of violence. She writes of other deaths, among them, that of a young man shot down on the streets as well as a group of young people hanging from a highway overpass in Mexico. In trying to make sense of these senseless acts of violence, both her empathy and respect shine through. Death touches us all, for some it is a closure, a finality to life but it's those sudden deaths that we encounter in life that leave us shaken, appalled at the senseless ending of a young life, and leave more questions than answers.

The author's attempt to examine some of these questions resulted in her writing a book that is a beautifully written blend of social commentary and personal history.… (plus d'informations)

As the title suggests, this Kindle Single collection of connected essays by our DIL is about young boys who died - particularly in Columbia, Mexico and near the U.S. -Mexico border. That includes her older brother who died in a horse-riding accident with her and her parents present. As I said to her, Dead Boys is heart-breaking, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. The original version won the PEN/Fusion Prize for Emerging Writers; this version is even better. Much better, IMO, actually, and I liked the first version a lot.

The following is from an interview with "Gloria", whose son Pablito was shot down on the street for failure to repay a loan shark. He had taken the loan to buy his way out of the military (apparently a common practice) and start a new life. Holding a photo of Pablito and his cousin Miguel, Gloria says,

"I brought this picture on purpose. I wanted you to see what I live. Miguel joined FARC {a guerilla group} after Pablito died. He carries a machine gun and says he's going to kill all the rich. There you go. Two boys. Both good. One died stupid, and the other lives bad. That's what we got, that's what I got."

She actually was glad Pablito died that way, because then it was "easier to identify the body." Usually the killings were more secretive.

Another essay explains Adriana being confounded by the limited and impersonal reporting in 2012 of nine people hanged on a bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It was a bridge she had crossed many times. Fourteen heads were found in coolers the same day. She is struck by the tolerance to violence that has developed, and our ability to simply return to concerns about shopping or going to clubs. Columbia has been in a civil war for 60 years, and a recent rapprochement with one guerilla group is encouraging, but also cause for cynicism.

It's hard to imagine more value for the dollar than a $1.99 for this one. If you can handle the subject matter, this is brilliant writing.… (plus d'informations)