By Pedro Martin
Publisher: Guppy Books
ISBN: 978916558069
It’s the late 70s, and American-born Pedro has been told that the entire family is off to Mexico to collect his grandfather. Pedro’s parents, and half his siblings, are Mexican immigrants, while the rest of the kids are, like Pedro, born in the USA. All in all, that’s eleven family members heading south, traveling in a pick-up truck and a battered Winnebago.
Seen through the author’s eyes, this is a revealing look at an extraordinary road trip comprising crooked border guards, knock-off goods, dangerous toys, weird milk, and family dynamics. There are even dreadful haircuts involved. It could, quite easily, have descended into a mawkish, sincere study of what it means to belong, but it never goes there. Instead, it’s packed with humour, misunderstanding and discovery. It’s like you’re in the Winnebago with them.
All credit to Pedro Martin for pulling this off – a successful memoir that just about any age can enjoy.
And if you liked that: Try Guy Deslisle’s Burma Chronicles
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