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A review by balletbookworm
The Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea
5.0
A poetic recounting of the tragedy that occurred in 2001 when 26 men attempted to cross into the United States via the Devil's Highway near Yuma, Arizona - only 12 survived. This a book that falls very much in the vein of In Cold Blood in the ways that Urrea sets a scene and keeps the narrative thread of the book moving (particularly in the last sections) but unlike Capote deals very much in facts and only reconstructs what he was unable to verify such as "Mike F." (the Border Patrol officer who found the walkers who was unable to be interviewed at the time) and some of the thoughts and actions of the walkers who died in the Devil's Highway. This is a very haunting tale.
I heard Urrea speak at the Iowa City Book Festival 2014 when he was awarded the Paul Engle Prize - I bought this book immediately and had him sign it. But I didn't get around to reading it until now (my bad, I know). Having Urrea narrate this audiobook is a treat. He is an excellent storyteller.
I heard Urrea speak at the Iowa City Book Festival 2014 when he was awarded the Paul Engle Prize - I bought this book immediately and had him sign it. But I didn't get around to reading it until now (my bad, I know). Having Urrea narrate this audiobook is a treat. He is an excellent storyteller.