The Road to Delano EPUB ISBN: 9781644281253”A genuine Rare Bird Book” copyright and written by John DeSimone.
The author has fashioned a fictional story surrounding the violent period around Delano, California during the bitter disputes between the grape growers and the poor Mexican and Philippine workers bused in, and poorly housed/treated while working on the grape vines. It is a story of the resulting confrontations between the brutal, even viscous, supporting strike breakers heaping humiliation, and violent abuse on the Latino/Filipino strikers who were supported by Caesar Chavez and his insistence on non-violence among his United Farm Workers. It also is a coming of age story centered on two couples, each discovering love for another with roots in the opposite side. Adding further to the depth of the troubling situation for all concerned, is that each male character has the ability to gain a full college athletic scholarship that will take him from the chaotic situation in which he now resides. Still more, a mystery is part of the tale that involves the death of one of the protagonist’s father, an earlier occurrence that is highly contributory to the entire situation. Overall, the basic theme of the story is the requirement for individuals occasionally to make the most ‘gut-wrenching’ decisions to do what is morally correct in spite of the fact that it may result in a change in one’s life dreams.
Discussion: The author has presented a fascinating look at this particular time in American history and used it to provide a most interesting coming-of-age story of decision making involving the most basic of moral values. The tale projects a ‘feeling’ of being somewhat contrived in following the actions of probably the main character, but still makes for an intriguing read.
4* Intriguing story with flaws that largely may be overlooked.