Key Chicano Novel, Inscribed Twice
Macho!
Notes: A raw, semi-autobiographical depiction of the life of a teenage Mexican boy who comes to the United States to find a better life and instead encounters seemingly endless hardship.
Macho! was published as a paperback original during the brief period in the early 1970s when New York publishers tried to take advantage of the Brown Power movement by selling Chicano novels and anthologies. While this book sold relatively well, going into several printings, the novel was out of print for two decades before being reissued as a trade paperback in 1991. It remains in print today. The author later wrote the touching novel Rain of Gold.
"Macho!" is hyped on the cover as "The First Great Chicano Novel," a distinction probably held by Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, but it is still a key work arising from the Chicano Movement.
Edition + Condition: A near fine copy with a light crease on the spine. This copy is inscribed twice, once on the inside front cover and again, to a different recipient on the title page. The first inscription reads, "Spring 1991. Al Newgarden, what a treat that you found this book, my first after 10 years of writing & 260 rejections. I salute you, amigo! V. E. Villaseñor. Hold on to this one! It's a find!" The second inscription reads, "Tomas, con gusto! Victor Villaseñor."
Publication: New York: Bantam, 1973.
Item No: #12554
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