The Buddha Book

by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.

Dinky, Jose, and Barbara are teens living in the Bronx. Dinky wants to put his father's drug dealing reputation behind him; Jose has just been dumped by his girlfriend who's moved on to the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031226299X
• ISBN13: 9780312262990
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

interesting

I got this book from a leftovers book store. The book jacket and back of the book interested me. It has a very captivating hook. At the same time, some of the characters (the principal of the school) are very one-sided and absolutely everything they do points out the kind of person they are supposed to be (principal: bad). The dialogue is also a little disjointed and unrealistic, but that's partly because mr Rodriguez made the teachers all be 'formal, strict, educational', and a lot of the lingo the kids use is outdated and they try a little too hard (Hey, that ain't cool. The guy can't help it if he's a Ricky Retardo, man). On the whole, you should try this book, but I wouldn't spend the whole amount of money on it.

The Buddah Book

This book was a very good book it has everything you would want in a fiction book. I would recomend this book to any one who likes books with violence. This book is a tale about two boys who write a comic about true things that happen in their life I could not put this book down once I started reading it. I definetly give this book five stars.

It was off da hooooook!

I couldm't believe it at first but this was a compelling piece of fiction. Abraham's cutting realism transports to el Sur del Bronx. His sardonic humor and witty prose grabs you, and doesn't let you go. He portrays the daily battle of NY Puerto Rican youth with grace and dignity. I've been a major fan ever since I read his short story "Roaches." As a veteran of 40's, Brooklyn hooky amd house parties, the occassional blunt and graffity I could say it brought me back....

I couldn't put this book down....

The Buddha Book was a required reading for an ethnic studies class at UW Madison, and I must say, it was an enjoyable read. Not only did the book address the the perceptions of latino and chicano by whites, it also shows the struggles between the groups. Rodriguez probes the relations of the Spanish, black, white culture while writing fascinating fiction. He tries to understand Puerto RicanCentrism, as he calls it. His prose is unique, poetic, and gives the reader superb narrative. A great story.

Don't listen to Publishers Weekly

i read the review above from publishers weekly and they must have read the wrong book. this book shows the way it is for kids in the projects. it's sad, funny, violent, the story of two boys who draw comics and are trying to figure a way out of their lives. (if you like comics, there's a lot of good stuff in here--it's a little like michael chabon's novel the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay, except it's about the south bronx instead of manhattan.) anyway, read it for yourself.