Fiction

The Farolitos of Christmas

Richly colored full-page paintings show a Chicano family that is part of a New Mexico community. Anaya's story, first published in a magazine in 1987, focuses on Luz, a young girl whose father, wounded in World War II, hasn't come home yet. Her sick grandfather is not strong enough to cut the logs for the traditional luminarias (small bonfires), so Luz and her Indian friend Reina from a nearby pueblo find a way to make farolitos (lighted candles in paper bags weighted with sand) to light the way for the Christmas pilgrims. --Hazel Rochman, Booklist

The Old Man's Love Story

Anaya’s reflections, as shared through the experiences of this old man, point to the power and importance of love at every stage of life. Lyrical and earthy, sad yet suffused with humor, The Old Man’s Love Story will speak to all readers, perhaps especially to those who have suffered a recent loss. --from University of Oaklahoma Press

Randy Lopez Goes Home

Readers acquainted with Anaya's fiction will find themselves in familiar territory here. Randy Lopez, like all Anaya's protagonists, is on a spiritual quest. But both those new to and familiar with Anaya will recognize this philosophical meditation as part of a long literary tradition going back to Homer, Dante, and the Bible. Richly allusive and uniquely witty, Randy Lopez Goes Home presents man's quest for meaning in a touching, thought-provoking narrative that will resound with young adults and mature readers alike. --from Untiversity of Oaklahoma Press