The Gunslinger’s Companion
(Historical Fiction)
By Michael
De Stefano
ISBN
#978-1937769307
Price
$14.50
238 Pages
Rating
5-Stars
“Reminiscent of Steinbeck and Caldwell. The story of
migrant workers in America, and a family’s desperate journey during dangerous
times.”
The story begins when a family leaves Mexico before a
civil war starts in their country, only to be enmeshed in America’s War Between
the States. It follows the families as they experience suffering, rape, and a
living hell in their adopted land, where evil begets them along their journey.
The story focuses on Pablo Cordero, as he struggles to survive in a failing
economy among violent people. Born of migrant parents working the wheat harvest
across America, the hard men who follow the wheat crops can be cruel and
uncaring of who they hurt.
Even though the story skips around, returning to past
times, then back to the present, the author keeps the reader entertained. Pablo
invents fantasies to tell his daughter and granddaughter, to cover up the harsh
times. He tells them of sunrises and sunsets on Bagdad Beach in Matamoros,
Mexico, and how magical the event is. What befalls them on their journey will
make a strong man cry. Pablo holds on to his faith, though his life is the
suffering of Job, never blaming God for his miseries. The reader will laugh at
his humor, and then cry at his many losses. This is a novel reminiscent of
Steinbeck and Caldwell, and should be read with a light heart for a gentle man
and his family’s plight. The characters will mesmerize the readers. Highly
recommended.
Tom Johnson
Echoes Magazine
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