A powerful book about the tough and gritty existence on the edge of the border, where everyone dreams of better lives that are only available to a very few through even fewer routes.
I'm old enough to remember when there was some kind of order here; the cartel ruled everyone, and that was that. No one controls these streets anymore. Now it's just anarchy; total and all-out war between all-comers. It's Hell, plain and simple, and that's funny because you know what they say--"Even the Devil is scared of living in Juarez." But not me. It doesn't matter where you go; you have to die somewhere. Right?
Death there is aplenty, so much that the Saint of Death receives as much worship as the Trinity. Death and trouble. Arturo has been eking out a living in a shantytown on the outskirts of town, but an old friend has gotten himself in trouble and is asking Arturo for help. He knows that if he agrees to help, things might never be the same. And the chances of things getting worse are much higher than they are of improving.
His story is tense, gripping, and heartbreaking.
Docked a star for Sedgwick's insertion of content to make the story topical and give it political and social context, which comes across as didactic and moralizing. It is not needed. The story is effective enough to convey the message all on its own.
Remember this: every man has to find out for himself in what particular fashion he can be saved. I believe that. You just have to find out what it is you're looking for.