Borferline Personalities

One of my favorite books of 2005 was the epic bestseller The Hummingbird’s Daughter, by Luis Alberto Urrea, a poet-turned-documentarian-turned-novelist whose first, amazing work of fiction boiled for twenty years before spilling onto the page, inspired by the true-life story of his great aunt, a curandera named Teresa. It turned out to be a fabulous, magic-infused yarn shot through with a hard, visceral, dreamy streak of humanism.

So I’m betting on his new book, Into the Beautiful North, to become a favorite in 2009, even if it’s just because I’m already in love with the premise: A young Sinaloan teen whose father migrated north to work in the United States is inspired after viewing The Magnificent Seven and decides to leave her village and go north herself in search of seven men who will come back and protect her town from predators and drug dealers. Again, as in Hummingbird, Urrea presents a strong female protagonist, all while examining the flipside of illegal immigration on a poetic, human level. And no doubt, I’ll be in line tonight when Urrea arrives to read from and sign copies of North, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2526 East Colfax Avenue. You, too? Go to www.tatteredcover.com or call 303-322-7727 for information.

Tue., May 26, 7:30 p.m., 2009