From Mexico City to San Francisco's Mission District, nothing comes easy—in life or in love. Here is an unstereotypical view of a world as treacherous as it is tender, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking. Authentic and honest, these nine stories focus on today’s Latino men, their strength and vulnerability, their fears and deepest desires. “Danger, cruelty, lust, loss, blood, death and dance. . . . Couldn’t put the book down. So hot I had to smother it in half and half. Murguía's a master of hearts on fire, working his storytelling anvil late at night, in a wrecked cubicle of SF called La Mission. No doubt the hungriest fiction and the most ferocious collection in the last three decades.”—Juan Felipe Herrera, author of Border Crosser with a Lamborghini Dream “Alejandro Murguía has returned the short story to the people. Though some of his characters are down on their luck, the author has hit the literary jackpot with this one. He’s been revered as an artist for decades among the multicultural cognoscenti, and the publication of this fabulous volume will confirm for many readers what we knew all along.”—Ishmael Reed, author of The Reed Reader “This is a book of rare intensity and transcultural joy!"—José David Saldívar, author of Border Matters: Remapping American Cultural Studies "The nine tales of life in Mexico City and the Mission District depicted . . . crackle with energy without losing sight of their narratives. . . . [Murguia's] Mission district is not a hipster haven but a melting pot for Latinos from all over the Americas, and his Mexico City is a thriving cultural whirlwind."— San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Alejandro Murguía begins This War Called Love: Nine Stories , his second collection, with an unforgettable portrait of Mexico City in the summer of 1956. Murguía’s prose has the captivating quality that can only flow from a narrator who is himself captivated by his passions. A born storyteller, Murguía sustains flawlessly believable first-person narratives, which gives his prose much of its warmth and nuance."— The San Francisco Bay Guardian "Equal parts funny and sad, Murguía’s short stories depict, with tender and sometimes unflinching detail, love, life, and growing up Hispanic. . . . Although the best of the collection are on the darker side, Murguía also shines in the more lighthearted stories . . . Free of stereotypes and always honest, this collection presents Latino Chicano life at full throttle."— Booklist "Authentic and honest, these stories focus on today’s Latin men, their strength and vulnerability, their fears and deepest desires."— Latin Style Alejandro Murguía was born in California, but raised in Mexico City. His experiences as an international volunteer in the Nicaraguan Insurrection of 1979 are recounted in his second collection of short stories Southern Front (American Book Award, 1991). He lives in San Francisco, where he teaches Latin American literature at San Francisco State University. Equal parts funny and sad, Murguia's short stories depict, with tender and sometimes unflinching detail, love, life, and growing up Hispanic. The heartbreaking "Boy on a Wooden Horse" takes place in the year before an earthquake nearly leveled Mexico City and follows a young boy whose childhood races past him as he faces one tragedy after another. In the brief but powerful story "The Flower Seller," a child walks the streets of California, selling roses out of a bucket in restaurants while his mother repairs clothes and his sisters sew beads on dresses for retail stores--all of them working for pennies. Although the best of the collection are on the darker side, Murguia also shines in the more lighthearted stories; for instance, the hilarious dance maestro of "A Lesson in Meringue" teaches a class the forbidden dance, claiming it washes away problems and is the cheapest workout in town. Free of stereotypes and always honest, this collection presents Latino-Chicano life at full throttle. Carlos Orellana Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "A born storyteller, Murguia sustains flawlessly believable first-person narratives, which give his prose much of its warmth and nuance " -- San Francisco Bay Guardian, September 2002 "The tales of life in Mexico City and the Mission District. . . crackle with energy without losing sight of their narratives" -- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, Sunday, July 28th 2002 Alejandro Murguía was born in California, but raised in Mexico City. His experiences as an international volunteer in the Nicaraguan insurrection of 1979 are recounted in his second collection of short stories Southern Front (American Book Award, 1991). He was the founding editor of Tin-Tin , a Latino journal of art and literature, and an editor of Volcán: Poems from Central America (City Lights). Used Book in Good Condition