Overview

"A grandson of Mexican immigrants, Ron Schuler draws deeply upon his family background in his first novel to tell a fictionalized tale of two families who arrive in East Los Angeles in 1919: the Martín family, fleeing the Revolution in Zacatecas, Mexico through Arizona copper mines and ranchos southeast of L.A.; and the Baumiller family, after a wildcat strike goes awry in Kansas City, Kansas, starting a new life in the American City of Last Resort. A descendant of both families-half-Mexican, half-Anglo, known by his genealogy website handle ""bauwau685""-returns to the West Coast and searches for his roots among the traces of these families and amid the Golden Age of L.A. itself ... its old boxing gyms and speakeasies, its after-hours clubs, Bible rallies and quack doctors, California politicians and the fringes of Hollywood, the unraveling of the streetcar system and the sinister launch of the aerospace industry, and against an undercurrent of atmospheric and internalized racism toward Mexican-Americans. In the process, ""bauwau685"" uncovers tragic secrets that were never meant to be exposed and discovers the extent to which identities can be fabricated and reimagined in a city in which image is everything, and truth is ephemeral."

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9781733184120

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Reviews

In Angelenos, Ron Schuler traces his complicated roots in lush but tightly-wrought prose reminiscent of Raymond Chandler and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This sweeping book - part novel, part memoir, part biography of place - is a map of four family trees, telling the complex, vital story of what it means to be an immigrant in these United States. Traveling seamlessly from farming communities in Mexico in the early 1900s to Frank Sinatra's Los Angeles and the Hollywood Bowl of the 1940s, Schuler fictionally recreates the lives of his ancestors and shares with readers a journey that brings a cast of vivid characters brilliantly to life. This book is a gift for any reader interested in that most essential human quest - how we can understand our lives through the lives and hearts of those who came before us. -- Lori Jakiela, author of Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe [A] well-thought-out novel about immigrants and migrants-newcomers trying to figure out how to live and fit into Los Angeles during the 1920s, 30s and 40s ... Schuler carefully builds his characters and places them in a well-researched and accurate depiction of the era, weaving them through a maze of historical events toward the unexpected and surprising end. -- Richard Soto, founder, Chicano Research Center, Stockton, California ...[U]nforgettable characters ... moment after moment that will stick with you. -- Ray Werner, playwright (Night Song; Elder Hostages trilogy; Poster Boy)

Author Information

A grandson of Mexican immigrants, Ron Schuler was born and raised in greater Los Angeles. He graduated from Pomona College (cum laude) with a B.A. in English and from Cornell Law School. He has been practicing corporate, M&A, start-up, technology and securities law in Pittsburgh for over 30 years. Schuler was a lead member of the City of Pittsburgh's legal team for the planning and construction of PNC Park, home to Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, and was the author of the Forbes Field II Task Force Final Report (1996), the urban planning justification for PNC Park's location. He served as the founding chairman of Pittsburgh's community-supported jazz radio station, WZUM-FM.

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