A terrific story by Kevin A. González. I liked the tension between the adult son and the child-like father against the backboard of an absent wife and mother, along with the presence and pressure from grandparents. A buddy story, with just the right touch of anger at the end.
Beautiful tension, humor, and pain. I love the protagonist's flip-flop between desire and repulsion. Fantastic narrative voice. I cannot wait to read more of González's work!
Tessa Derfner replied on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 02:48am
I knew Kevin A. González back when he used to be an underground poet in San Juan and went by the nickname "El vietnamita." Terrific writer. "Christmas Eve" is González at his very best.
edgardo núñez replied on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 09:50am
It's clear why Kevin González is being honored with this award. His writing has all the elements that leave us aching for more, especially his narrative voice, which had me sucked in by the second line: ". . .she married this guy who’s like a piece of stale bread." Bravo to a ridiculously talented writer.
Becky Green Aaronson replied on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 09:59am
I liked the tension between the adult son and the child-like father against the backboard of an absent wife and mother, along with the presence and pressure from grandparents.
There is never a boring moment in the entire story. It has just the right amount of the distance between the father and the son to keep the story tense and ripe.
A terrific story by Kevin A. González. I liked the tension between the adult son and the child-like father against the backboard of an absent wife and mother, along with the presence and pressure from grandparents. A buddy story, with just the right touch of anger at the end.
I love this story.
Beautiful tension, humor, and pain. I love the protagonist's flip-flop between desire and repulsion. Fantastic narrative voice. I cannot wait to read more of González's work!
The voice is what drew me in and kept me interested. It was both funny and angry, with great bits of insight throughout the piece. A great story!
I knew Kevin A. González back when he used to be an underground poet in San Juan and went by the nickname "El vietnamita." Terrific writer. "Christmas Eve" is González at his very best.
It's clear why Kevin González is being honored with this award. His writing has all the elements that leave us aching for more, especially his narrative voice, which had me sucked in by the second line: ". . .she married this guy who’s like a piece of stale bread." Bravo to a ridiculously talented writer.
Really good writing--laugh out loud in places. Like others, I want to read more by Kevin González.
I liked the tension between the adult son and the child-like father against the backboard of an absent wife and mother, along with the presence and pressure from grandparents.
There is never a boring moment in the entire story. It has just the right amount of the distance between the father and the son to keep the story tense and ripe.