In the Shadow of the Vulture

By George Ryga

Set in the desert on either side of the Mexico-U.S. border, this harrowing novel was inspired by an actual event: the abandonment to starvation and death of a "shipment" of Mexican immigrant workers. The sinister shadow of the vulture falls over every character in Ryga's story--Ramon, the flesh-merchant; Juan, the bandito; Anastasio, the defrocked priest; Sandy, the tormented Vietnam vet; Antonia, the "puta" who can survive anything; Stretch, the neo-nazi chicken farmer. In a society as barren and relentless as the desert itself, all of them struggle for survival. Some of them make it. This is a novel that is not afraid to explore the depths of human despair, hope, and rage. It raises important questions about legal and spiritual aliens, and it lays bare the neo-conservative political strategy of the exploitation of labour as a solution to economic problems.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889222339
• ISBN13: 9780889222335
• Release Date: February 1985
• Publisher: Talonbooks
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 5.6"