Luis Alberto Urrea

Urrea

Last night Luis Alberto Urrea spoke at the CMC Athanaeum as part of the Claremont on the Same Page program regarding his book Into the Beautiful North. He spoke, among other things, about his life and how various people who he has met and known played their part in this particular novel.

I found it interesting that while some people I have spoken to said that they felt that most of his characters were not real, but mere cardboard or caricatures, Urrea spoke of the characteristics of flesh and blood people who were the models for his book.  I guess that truth can be stranger than fiction.

Some writers are not necessarily good speakers, but Urrea was funny and kept us listening for nearly an hour which did not feel that long.