OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Walk Back Home" by Gil Garcia.]

A Walk Back Home: A Humorous Family Saga is a non-fiction book, which details the childhood of the author, Gil Garcia. The book is a compilation of forty-four short stories. Garcia takes readers through the 1940s to the mid-1950s, describing his life while he lived in the Florence District in Los Angeles. Garcia writes down the events of the past so that they can never be forgotten in the future. The book shows the good, the bad, and the downright hilarious goings on of one family and shows the true strength of family bonds. Garcia will have readers laughing with each of his stories.

Anytime I read non-fiction, I always question how reliable the author of the work is. Garcia earned a lot of respect from me, because in the beginning of his book, he puts a disclaimer out there to readers. He explains that he writes his stories from memory. As a result, the stories and conversations may not be 100% word-for-word, but the "spirit of those conversations is 100% true." In a way, this serving of honesty built my trust toward Garcia. While reading, I felt more at ease, because I did not have to question the authenticity of everything he claims happened.

The writing style of this book is absolutely beautiful. The diction in the book makes me believe Garcia is actually a poet. The words flow together marvelously; they will entrance readers. The wording is never dry or dull. There is a great level of detail. The way the scenes are described made me think I was actually there with him, because I could picture every story like it was my own memory.

The book is divided into sections based on the years the stories took place. At the beginning of each section, Garcia includes lists of hit music, big headlines, and major motion pictures of the years. He gives readers a feel for the times, which is a really smart move. My favorite thing Garcia does is include actual family photographs. I felt more connected to the people he writes about, and as a result, I became more invested in their stories.

I do have a couple of criticisms. Garcia includes quotes between paragraphs, and the quotes are a serious distraction. They took me right out of the section I was reading. I spent far too much time considering the relevance of the quotes. Also, the sections do not follow a linear timeline. For example, the first section is about 1949, but the next is about 1942. I kept having to go back to figure out how old Garcia was during certain events. There are a few grammatical mistakes. For example, "pop" is not capitalized in one place, and it is meant to be a proper noun. In one instance there is no space after a comma: "4,my".

I give A Walk Back Home 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction and to anyone who enjoys really funny stories. Readers will connect with the stories and the dynamics of the Garcia family, and possibly even say, "Garcia's stories remind me of a few of my own." I know I thought it many times. It is a truly lovely compilation of non-fiction short stories, and it breaks my heart to give it less than 4 stars, but I must based upon the errors and the distracting quotes.

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A Walk Back Home
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Like Jesska6029's review? Post a comment saying so!

Thanks for this thoughtful review! I've been looking for a collection of short stories to dig into, and this makes me excited to read Garcia's book. Non-fiction short stores--a rare genre! Looking forward to it.

teacher_jane1 wrote:Thanks for this thoughtful review! I've been looking for a collection of short stories to dig into, and this makes me excited to read Garcia's book. Non-fiction short stores--a rare genre! Looking forward to it.

Honestly, it's beautifully written. I think you will enjoy it!

Great review. It's interesting that you felt the quotes between the paragraphs were a distraction. I usually like quotes scattered throughout a story, but I guess there were too many of them in this book.

bookowlie wrote:Great review. It's interesting that you felt the quotes between the paragraphs were a distraction. I usually like quotes scattered throughout a story, but I guess there were too many of them in this book.

I usually like quotes too, but I thought there were far too many in this book.

I understand what you mean about the quotes. If they're sort of randomly added in, they do a lot more damage than good. Overall, this is a great review, and I'm interested to read some of the stories contained in the book!

amybo82 wrote:I understand what you mean about the quotes. If they're sort of randomly added in, they do a lot more damage than good. Overall, this is a great review, and I'm interested to read some of the stories contained in the book!

Thanks for the kind words. Give the book a look. It's really beautiful!

Great review!

Thanks for a nice, thorough review. The quality of writing sounds great. That's enough to put this on my "maybe I'll read this" list.

PashaRu wrote:Thanks for a nice, thorough review. The quality of writing sounds great. That's enough to put this on my "maybe I'll read this" list.

Thank you. I try to be as thorough as possible. I do hope you put it as your "to read" book!

This sounds like a book that I would like to read. Sometimes I like to read short stories for a change so I'm not involved in one story over a long period of time. I also like humor in stories and stories that are well written. It doesn't sound like there are too many errors so they take away from the quality of the story. I think this is great review.

@Amheiser - thank you!

Great review! The books sounds very entertaining, but I do understand your feelings about the quotes. I don't like it when authors do that--it's so distracting! I like short stories, and I particularly enjoy reading stories that examine family dynamics, but the issue with the quotes makes me hesitant to read this one.

LivreAmour217 wrote:Great review! The books sounds very entertaining, but I do understand your feelings about the quotes. I don't like it when authors do that--it's so distracting! I like short stories, and I particularly enjoy reading stories that examine family dynamics, but the issue with the quotes makes me hesitant to read this one.

Thanks!

I just really liked the memoir, so I didn't love being taken out of the story because of the quotes.