EL by raul garza
Twenty-something Emi just wants to be a writer – a writer who tells truths,
shatters myths, and rips the lid off her immigrant family’s generations-old
secrets. Stifled by an overprotective mom, Clara, and an underproductive
brother, Gus, Emi dreams of escaping the confines of the family’s crowded
Logan Square brownstone.
A daring relationship with an exotically-stable...
Twenty-something Emi just wants to be a writer – a writer who tells truths,
shatters myths, and rips the lid off her immigrant family’s generations-old
secrets. Stifled by an overprotective mom, Clara, and an underproductive
brother, Gus, Emi dreams of escaping the confines of the family’s crowded
Logan Square brownstone.
A daring relationship with an exotically-stable intellectual, Webster, who
steps gracefully off the nearby El Train and into her life, ignites Emi’s artistic
passion. She revels in the success of a revealing but unflattering short story
based on her family, even at the cost of her most treasured relationships.
Meanwhile, Gus confronts his own demons with the aid of a metaphysical cow
head, and Clara reluctantly searches for fulfillment in her adopted homeland.
When Emi’s novel is rejected by a major publisher, she is forced to question
her artistic honesty, and examine the role of story in her life. Together with
her Mexican/Mexican-American family, Emi searches for meaning in their
collective experience, and faces generations-old regret for events that shaped
their lives. As they unravel and “re-ravel” past events and the storytelling
process itself, we discover yet another perspective of their shared story,
delivered