Reviews

West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders, and Killers in the Golden State by Mark Arax

bloomingtrans's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition

4.0

I picked up this book thinking that it would be a glorification of California, something to match my enthusiasm for my adopted state (5 years and counting). Instead I found all of our sins laid out bare on the page. All the ugliness, all the disillusion, all the mean and hard and crazy. Looking now at all the quotes on the covers of the book, I have no idea where I got this notion of glorification. Probably I looked no further than that fantastic Teddy Roosevelt quote and plunked down my cash.

What I got from this book was the opposite of what I expected, and I loved every page of it. It was real, and it was riveting. Now I just have to find out who this Saroyan person is that the author keeps name-dropping.

melanie_reads's review against another edition

3.0

I read this for the Zankou story but otherwise, was a little underwhelmed.

astropheems's review against another edition

3.0

I like some chapters more than others, but overall a great read. He writes best when he’s writing about the Central Valley, his family, and Armenian families in America. I’m excited to read his next book!