This book is proudly, unashamedly, unabashedly bilingual. Spanish fluency necessary.

It's not often that I find myself at a loss for words but I feel humbled by this novel. I'm troubled that no words I could write would do justice to the powerful neo-noir/horror/magical realism that is contained within the pages of Coyote Songs.

Written from the viewpoint of several different characters (a child seeking vengeance for his father's murder, a female performance artist looking to say something that will be heard, a hardened child smuggling "coyote", a mother carrying evil in her womb, and others), this novel illustrates life on the Mexico-US border in a visceral way.

The language is purposeful and specific. Iglesias uses Spanish throughout which makes this feel all the more truthful. He doesn't offer translations for these; there's no need for pandering. The stories are always within reach and the emotions they evoke are what feels important.

Connecting to the anguish, the anger, the pain, the fear, the pride of these characters is paramount and one only need an iota of empathy to step inside their skin for an uncomfortable moment.

Part Sicario, part Sin Nombre, and part Basket Case, this novel was an incredible mix of gut wrenching realism, potent poetry, and fantastical horror. For every moment of anguish, however, there was an equal measure of hope... Even if that hope was on display dripping in blood.

And here I am at the end of this review having not scratched the surface. Read this. ( )

Wow, I heard great things about this book, but it did nothing for me.
I can see why this author is a darling of critics.
1. If you are going to write short stories that sort of kind of, tie together they should at least be coherent. These stories were a mess.
2. The authors intensely liberal bias is clear throughout, making some characters a waste of time.
3. If you are going to write a book in English, stick with English! Whole paragraphs written in Spanish add nothing to the story. It screams look how clever my writing is, when the reality is the opposite. ( )

I didn't really get into this one. Some of the storylines are more interesting than others, and they don't come together as well as they might. ( )

COYOTE SONGS. What can I say? It was brilliant, so let's start with that.

I can't even hope to write a review as insightful and well written as my friend's, Michael Patrick Hicks', here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2590745152?book_show_action=false&from...

All I can hope to do is try to impart to you the way this book make me feel. There is a small group of characters living near the U.S./Mexican border and we are privy to their lives-with all the sorrows and joys therein. Unfortunately, there are very few joys. There is little to look forward to other than more poverty, misery, and crime. I quote from the book:

"He opened his eyes to a present that mocked his every wish and shattered any vision that dared go past it."

When every hope you have is dashed, when every small good thing in your life is met with ten big, bad things, what point is there? When you have no hope for your children or yourself, again, what's the point?

Here is where I was going to make a brief political statement, but I just deleted it. If you don't already feel compassion or empathy for those innocents caught up in this immigration debacle, then there's nothing I can say to make you feel for them. But Gabino Iglesias has said the words that made me feel even more for them than I already did.

They are powerful words. They are words that needed to be said. They're not all flowers and sunshine, they are violent and dark and represent some of the worst things about humanity. You should read those words. They are called COYOTE SONGS.

My highest recommendation, period.

You can and SHOULD get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2Vs0osZ ( )