Click May 10, 2010 — Dagoberto Gilb: “Uncle Rock”
Click here to read the story in its entirety on The New Yorker webpage.
Click for a larger image.
This story surprised me. I didn’t think, at first, that I would like it. The narrative closely follows the consciousness of the eleven-year-old Erick, as he follows his mother, a Mexican immigrant, from man to man to man. Then, it suddenly became much more than an immigrant or a child’s perspective story. The story quickly becomes a child’s perspective of a parent flailing to meet aspirations in a brutal America that doesn’t seem to recognize the American Dream.
The narrative opens when Erick is ordering his favorite American food. We then get a very nice passage that moves Erick from one man’s life to another, to free food if the man works in that industry, to a free TV if the man works there, etc. Soon we are at a Phillies baseball game (where we learn the story takes place sometime during Pete Rose’s tenure there, so 1979 to 1983) and Erick has caught a homerun ball. There is something tragic and empowering at the end, and it’s definitely worth thinkging about both events.
I generally like stories that are told from a child’s point of view and this was definitely one of my favorites of the year.
One thing that immediately occurred to me: I wonder about the timing of the story, what with the recent anti-immigration law that was passed in Arizona. Was this story waiting in the wings at the New Yorker and moved up to the front of the line?
In any case, I enjoyed the observations (“He didn’t have a buzzcut like the men who didn’t like kids.”) and how the story eventually comes to be set in a particular baseball era. I’d like to read more by this author.
My thoughts are posted above. I agree with Joe that this one was one of the better stories of the year. I enjoyed its look at the promise of America to a young single mother — and what she is desired for, shown in the nice scene after a Phillies game.
I’m interested in peoples’ thoughts on the ending.