a "must read" that will rate your own 5 stars!
Rating:
5 / 5
Blues for the Buffalo and the Manuel Ramos series of detective novels featuring Luis Montez is worth a second, third, and fourth look. Readers who enjoy outstanding mysteries will reward themselves by picking up Manuel Ramos' Blues for the Buffalo. When I recommend a novel to friends, I want them to read it, and it helps that the novel is in print. Until recently, Ramos' novels have been out of print, so the publication of his "last" Luis Montez novel is great news, for a number of reasons.first, Ramos writes arrestingly interesting and rewarding fiction. His stories include not only the crime stuff but a reputable character. Montez, when he's not dueling bandits, avoiding seductresses, or getting shot in downtown Denver, enjoys a warm relationship with his aging father that any middle aged reader will find personally involving. Luis Montez is one of the most interesting characters mystery readers will meet. More, Ramos' chicano character and milieu informs readers of a world few have intimate familiarity. The chicano point of view at once enlarges a reader's experience with unitedstatesian culture as well as leads the reader to discover other chicana and chicano writers in the genre. Multiculturalism has not been this rewarding since Walter Mosley came on the scene. The novel of the moment, Blues for the Buffalo, alludes to Oscar Zeta Acosta. Readers know Zeta as the "samoan" attorney in the Hunter S. Thompson works, e.g. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but, unless they've also read Acosta's The Brown Buffalo, won't recognize him. Ramos plays a trick of sorts, Zeta is not in the book but the events surround his mystery. One needn't know the Acosta legend to enjoy Ramos' novel, but reading _Blues_ makes for a rosy future if the reader were to pick up Acosta's two books, as well as find the entire Ramos oeuvre. Ramos introduces a Mexican American character in this novel who could become his next character in a series of the character's own stories. The contrasts between the 60s chicano, Montez, and the 80s chicanesque detective, inform a perspective on chicano and mexican cultures that readers will not find in the news nor in the popular media. For this alone, Blues offers worthwhile reading. Fun, though is the singular reason anyone might pick up Ramos' stories. Reading Blues, plain and simple, is fun. Ramos' work has gone out of print, and it is with gratitude that Blues for the Buffalo has come back onto the market. Read it, then encourage your friends to do likewise. An insightful publisher might notice the enthusiasm of Ramos' readers and bring back the entire series. Better, the publisher might commission Ramos to get back to work and give us more Montez, and, hopefully, that new character, and in the process, provide unitedstatesian readers with insights into a people and culture rarely met in US fiction. Readers everywhere deserve the opportunity.
blues for the reader of chicano detective fiction turn rosy
Rating:
5 / 5
That Manuel Ramos' chicano mysteries have gone out of print gave me the blues as I enjoyed reading the entire series and longed for more. When I recommend a writer / title to friends I like it when the book's in print. Blues for the Buffalo is back in print and I hope it won't be too much longer before all of the Luis Montez series becomes available again. The Denver attorney enjoys an interesting relationship with his father, as a worthwhile sidenote to a series of interesting and exciting mysteries. Blues plays against the legend of the Brown Buffalo, Oscar Zeta Acosta, who plays a central role in the novel, even in Zeta's absence. More interesting is Ramos' introduction of a Mexican American...who offers an interesting contrast to the older Montez. I looked forward to having Ramos spin off the new character, but then the books disappeared. Hopefully readers will discover Blues and create demand for the other titles, inspiring a clever publisher to commission Ramos to get back to work and meeting his obligation to readers who enjoy a good mystery with the added bonus of adding to a body of chicano literature that brings some of the freshest perspectives to literature written in the US.
An overlooked contemporary crime classic
Rating:
5 / 5
Too bad more people have not paid attention to Manuel Ramos' books. He writes "mystery" novels featuring the Chicano lawyer Luis Montez, but don't let the genre tag lead you to diminish his books. BLUES FOR THE BUFFALO is an excellent crime story but it's more about the search for Chicano identity -- and forsaken cultural identities. The "Buffalo" in question here is, of course, the legendary lawyer and author Oscar Zeta Acosta. A fun reading experience would be to read Acosta's THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A BROWN BUFFALO then zip straight into BLUES FOR THE BUFFALO. Good stuff.
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