The Tijuana Book of the Dead [Paperback]

From the author of Pulitzer-nominatedThe Devil’s Highwayand national bestsellerThe Hummingbird’s Daughtercomes an exquisitely composed collection of poetry on life at the border. Weaving English and Spanish languages as fluidly as he blends cultures of the southwest, Luis Urrea offers a tour of Tijuana, spanning from Skid Row, to the suburbs of East Los Angeles, to the stunning yet deadly Mojave Desert, to Mexico and the border fence itself. Mixing lyricism and colloquial voices, mysticism and the daily grind, Urrea explores duality and the concept of blurring borders in a melting pot society.

Praise forThe Tijuana Book Of The Dead

a gorgeous, engaging collection...[Urrea] captures the song and spirit of people who might otherwise be invisible....As difficult as the subject matter may be, the writing is radiant, showing how the worth of human beings can’t be dimmed by a border fence or hot-button politics. —Washington Post

Urrea’s facility with language (he writes in English and Spanish, at times in the same poem) and with sound is absolutely striking....[R]eaders won’t dispute Urrea’s storytelling ability, as many of these poems are efficiently packaged narratives of seemingly real people at the real border, burdened with desire and pain and oppression, and even routine; nor will they be able to dispute this book’s tremendous, thumping heart. —Library Journal

He has an undeniable technical skill and his poems move adroitly through rich images, using physicality to make history (personal, cultural, and national) immediately present....Urrea displays accomplished movement in tight, driving narratives and poems that end with disarmingly succinct and arresting lines....[T]he book includes many moments of touching insight and poems that readers will rightfully celebrate. —Publishers Weekly

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