A review by arielamandah
The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

4.0

Is it strange to say that this book felt like a sob to me? The kind that starts in your stomach, makes your throat tight, and then leaps forth, almost on its own? The dread, sadness, disgust, and, yes, can’t-look-away fascination I felt reading this, mostly resemble a form of anguish for me. There are no heroes or villains in this story, just a long chain of people taking advantage of one another, trying to improve their situation. It SHOULD break your heart. Urrea is an outstanding writer and does an excellent job telling an utterly brutal story with compassion, clear-eyed fairness, and even a little humor (now and then, and especially in the acknowledgements).