La patografía

Rating:
Summary: A. Lozada's first novel, a pioneer in Puerto Rican letters!
Review: Angel Lozada's first novel Patografia (from "pato"-homosexual in Puerto Rican jargon) is the story of a young boy's coming of age in Mayagüez, a town in Puerto Rico's West Coast. As a gay boy the protagonist faces the cruel realities of accepting his own sexuality while dealing with the repression and contempt of his family and society. The novel is well written, and has a poetic language that touches the reader very deeply. Also, it presents a real, day to day image of Puerto Rican contemporary society, and its diverse social problems. Family life and the tragedies of growing up in a politically, sexually, and "macho" society give the protagonist a heroic character. I felt very moved (and identified) with Lozada's narrative. Above all an excellent novel, experimental, humorous, and tragic. A pioneer in Puerto Rican letters.

Rating:
Summary: Buenisima...
Review: Es muy BUENA, creo que pocos escritores tienen el don que tiene Angel Lozada. Aprendi mucho, de los Homosexual y de tiempos anteriores al mío. Angel demuestra que lo Gay se lleva por dentro y que no es algo que se debe de curar, pues no es y jamas será una enfermedad.

Rating:
Summary: Buenisima...
Review: La Patografia tells the come-out story of an intelligent boy raised in a small town (my hometown) in Puerto Rico. The novel presents not only gay themes, but also several aspects of the Puerto Rican culture and folklore. I enjoyed reading this entertaining story and the creativity in presenting the plot from different perspectives. I can hardly wait for Angel Lozada's next novel!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: La Patografia tells the come-out story of an intelligent boy raised in a small town (my hometown) in Puerto Rico. The novel presents not only gay themes, but also several aspects of the Puerto Rican culture and folklore. I enjoyed reading this entertaining story and the creativity in presenting the plot from different perspectives. I can hardly wait for Angel Lozada's next novel!

Rating:
Summary: The experience of La Patografia
Review: La Patografia, is Angel Lozada's ( Puerto Rico 1969). first novel. Patografia tells the story of a family in which characters spanning three generations make their appearance: There's grandmother Elvira exiled in New York, Evelyn, a daughter and mother full of frustrations, uncle Lazaro, an alcoholic full of sores, and auntie Alicia, a spiritualist and santeria priestess who with love and dedication converts Luisin, (a pato -gay child in Puerto Rican Spanish-refused by all since birth,) into the most succulent dish of Puerto Rico's cuisine, a dish never to be forgotten; Pato a La Mayaguense en Almibar de china. (Duck a la Mayaguense in orange sauce.) a dish of incredible national pride.

La Patografia is full of irony and multi-religious themes, capturing the lives of marginalized individuals in a postmodern Puerto Rico. It is full of Telenovelas (Soap Operas), period songs, childhood memories converted into fiction, popular religious beliefs (regardless of which god is being discussed), of resentments carried from one generation to another, revenge, suffering and hope. Through these narrative techniques, Patografia becomes a type of resurrection, a new bible which sanctifies what is prohibited, opening a road toward hope, to being what one is by the divine grace of God.

Angel Lozada writes about everyday things with an impressive command of the language and an extraordinary facility to convert it into poetry. This novel constitutes a novelty in the narrative of the Spanish speaking Caribbean.