Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler by Juan Felipe Herrera.
A unique rendition of autobiographical text, Herrera's Notebooks expands the boundaries of personal writing. In his life story, he includes poetry, photos from his family and his own life, and short snapshot writings. Herrera's choice of a writing style—that of a vignette—echoes diary or journal writing; his life moves at the pace of his chosen pieces. Deliberately leaving gaps in the his story, Herrera gives the reader easily accessible scenarios that leave him/her laughing and crying. His finale includes a couple of scripts, a "game show" and "ethnic sitcom," both of which emphasize Herrera's slice-of-life writing. Satirical, while still being realistic, Notebooks is a study not only of the life of one man, but also a peek into the byways of a cultural segment of American society. By Natosi, high school/college English instructor.