The book is called Parrot in the oven: Mi Vida, by Victor
Martinez. He has written no other novels besides this one. Parrot in the oven
is about a boy named Manny Hernandez growing up in poverty and abuse, desiring
to be respected by his peers. Manny's story goes on, revealing many details
about his home life, and how his family really is. The theme of the story being
that you can reach for the stars, as long as you don't reach too high.
Manny's father believes that people are similar to money.
There are million, thousand, and hundred dollar people. Even ten and one dollar
people. To Manny's father, he was just a mere penny. Manny desires to be more
than that, someone who is respected. But it seems harder than it looks, as he
lives in poverty, and abuse as well. Manny struggles to live life well while
managing life at home with his family. His father goes on several drinking
binges, which cause many problems for the family.When he goes to school, he
helps out the boxing team during training and their matches as an attempt to
gain recognition among his fellow students. The boxing team only accepts him
because they want his older, stronger brother Nardo to join, but he doesn't
care. His sister Magda becomes ill afterwards, and her getting sick reveals
problems among the family, and the veil of happiness they hold begins to
ripple.
I haven't read any other books this interesting in a while,
and I highly recommend the book to others who enjoy reading a story in a
different sort of format, with a fictional story that holds more true to
modern-day problems that some may face elsewhere compared to other stories.
Even if you don't relate to the story or its characters, it still is an
interesting story, showing struggle and pain that isn't normally shown in many
stories, if any. Thoe who read it, won't regret it. Guaranteed.
Book Review by Thomas D.
