| Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders |  | Author: Alicia Gaspar De Alba
Publisher: Arte Publico Pr
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $9.99
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Seller: Done With College
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 268,480
Media: Paperback
Pages: 346
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 1558855084
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781558855083
ASIN: 1558855084
Publication Date: August 31, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9781558855083 | | • | Condition: USED - VERY GOOD | | • | Notes: |
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Product Description
It's the summer of 1998 and for five years, over a hundred mangled and desecrated bodies have been found dumped in the Chihuahua desert outside of Juárez, México, just across the river from El Paso, Texas. The perpetrators of the ever-rising number of violent deaths target poor young women, terrifying inhabitants on both sides of the border. El Paso native Ivon Villa has returned to her hometown to adopt the baby of Cecilia, a pregnant maquiladora worker in Juárez. When Cecilia turns up strangled and disemboweled in the desert, Ivon is thrown into the churning chaos of abuse and murder. Even as the rapes and killings of "girls from the south" continue--their tragic stories written in desert blood--a conspiracy covers up the crimes that implicate everyone from the Maquiladora Association to the Border Patrol. When Ivon's younger sister gets kidnapped in Juárez, Ivon knows that it's up to her to find her sister, whatever it takes. Despite the sharp warnings she gets from family, friends, and nervous officials, Ivon's investigation moves her deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of silence. From acclaimed poet and prose-writer Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Desert Blood is a gripping thriller that ponders the effects of patriarchy, gender identity, border culture, transnationalism, and globalization on an international crisis.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 riveting! - it will pull you in and keep you reading 'til the last page July 4, 2005
toni (Maryland USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
A HUGE fan of Gaspar de Alba's earlier historical fiction, and an ardent admirer of her writing style, I was excited to find that she'd penned a new novel! -- yet, even so, for some inexplicably incomprehensible reason (I wasn't in the mood for gory violence? Mysteries are not my genre of choice?), I picked this book up several times - only to put it back down, before -- finally giving in to a closer look -- and, that was all it took!! Once I got through the first few pages, I couldn't put it down! It's true that the sometimes graphic images crafted by the carefully chosen words of Gaspar de Alba's skilled writing are often hard to stomache (that's how good she is!) -- but then - so, too, must be the very real murders and mutilations that her book fictionalizes. I commend Gaspar de Alba for her effort/s at spreading the word/s .... and .... give her "mil gracias" for the very affable creation of her "tough yet tender," "gender-bending," mapi-to-be, Yvonne-turned-Ivon. ; )
A MUST READ February 1, 2008
J. Hernandez
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
You won't be able to put this one down, and once you're done reading it, you'll want to help the women of Juarez. A great read, but an even greater source of vital information. Too many people are still unaware of the massive murdering of innocent young women along the U.S.-Mexico border, and Desert Blood sheds light on this horrible situation. I encourage you to read it and to take action informing others of the femicides in Juarez as well!
Horrifying and Wonderful At the Same Time June 23, 2006
Sue Ann Jaffarian (Los Angeles, CA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book made the hair on my neck stand straight up! But I couldn't stop reading. The fact that it is fiction centered around real events made it even more horrifying and compelling. But even if the Juarez murders had not and were not taking place, this is still an incredible book. It's well written, the story riveting, and the characters (very important to me) are drawn with great reality. The protagonist, Ivon Villa, is a strong but flawed gay woman, fiercely loyal to her family in spite of her mother's hatefulness, and her iron will and determination make her a perfect vehicle for the non-fictional message of this book. BRAVO ALICIA!
Good!!! January 23, 2008
Melvin E. Ellis
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Now this one was full of so many turns and kept pulling you in deeper, good read.
 A Simple Yet Facinating Read December 12, 2005
Carolyn Roberts (El Paso, TX)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I initially was going to give this book three stars, but in all fairness, I was hooked and couldn't put it down.
The only problem I had with this book was the way it was written. I believe the author had a message to say, theories to give, and details to offer. She then constructed a story AROUND her facts, hoping they'd fit perfectly. The story is too coincidental and unlikely in some areas. The constant Spanish dialogue was sometimes translated in same sentence, which bugged me some. She would of been better off using footnotes, in my opinion.
The writing was a bit too simple for me, but I can understand that maybe she wanted to reacher a wider audience.
The theories fascinated me though. That was what kept me turning the pages. I usually read a book in a few days, but I stayed up very late to finish this one. And I also felt satisfied when I got to the ending. Not the actual story's ending, but the way the author summed everything up in theory.
This fictional book was a vehicle to spread a horrible reality, and I am grateful. ---- Carolyn, 35, Native El Pasoan.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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