Welcome to the elderly world of brothers Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Sustaining through years of stubborn memory are so long ago fabled events that the brothers cannot come to an agreement of truth. At the center of their debate is the brothers' grandfather and a terrific century-old tale of kidnapping, murder, scalping, a ranch called El Rancho Capote, and a bear in a circus. The story is so fantastic, and each memory is so faulty, it has taken on a life of its own. So much so that Don Celestino's much younger paramour (and housekeeper), Soccoro, convinces the brothers to take a trip to Mexico to settle the debate once and for all. Soccoro and Don Celestino spirit Don Fidencio away from his nursing home without medications, identification, or money. The both heartwarming and heartbreaking problem is time is running out for both cantankerous men (Don Fidencio is over ninety). The moral of Amigoland is when you tell a story long enough it becomes fact, even if your memory is faulty. ( )

This novel was an absolute HOOT. I found myself laughing out loud several times during the book and I loved the Viagra part of the story. All of the sub-characters were also hilarious and I definitely suggest that you take the time to read this one. ( )

As a native Texan, I found the main characters to be authentic and unforgettable. There are two themes in this book that resonate strongly with me: dying on your own terms, and living on your own terms. I love the way the author presents the family ties as seemingly haphazard but ultimately unbreakable. This is a really good read. ( )

Don Fidencio Rosales, a nonagenarian who has recently been weakened by a stroke, has been condemned by his daughter to a hellish old age home in south Texas near the Mexican border, appropriately named "Amigoland". He rebels against the rules that only serve to take away his remaining freedom, and he despises the staff and his fellow residents, giving them nicknames such as The One With the Flat Face and The One Who Cries Like a Dying Calf.

Soon after his internment he is visited by Don Celestino Rosales, his much younger widowed brother, and his even younger girlfriend Socorro, a divorced maid who cleans his house. The two men have been estranged from each other for years after a trivial argument, and Socorro has urged Don Celestino to visit Don Fidencio in the old age home. The two men reluctantly set aside their grudges, and the couple take Don Fidencio on a trip across the border to Linares, Mexico, in order to fulfill a promise he made to his grandfather many years ago.

Amigoland is a well written and pleasant novel, but the story and its characters were only mildly interesting to me, which made for a good but not particularly memorable read. ( )

Don Fidencio is not happy to be a resident of Amigoland, a senior citizen's home in the border town of Brownsville, Texas. He believes that everyone is stealing the stuff that he has carefully stored in five shoe boxes. He hates using a walker. And he just wishes he could smoke on the toilet like he used to. His brother Don Celestino is getting older too, despite his relationship with the much younger Socorro, his housekeeper. Although the brothers have been estranged for many years, their arguments pick up right where they left off when Celestino goes to visit Fidencio. Convinced that he must return to the home from which his grandfather was kidnapped by Indians, Fidencio, Celestino, and Socorro head to Mexico. Along the way, we learn a lot about family, growing old, and remembering the past.

Don Fidencio is one of the most interesting characters I've met in a while. Every detail about this man - his conversations with his brother, his interactions with strangers, the things he keeps in his shoe boxes - make him pop off the page. He is often curmudgeonly and frustrated, but I couldn't help but like him. He is tender in his interactions with Socorro and begrudgingly kind to the boys that try to sell him Chicklets in the bus station. The story itself, the trip to Mexico, and the remembered history of his grandfather all serve to help us get to know Don Fidencio better. He is a character I won't soon forget.

This is Oscar Casares's first novel. He has also written a collection of short stories called [Brownsville] that I would like to read. He's a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and I'm thinking about trying to read a selection of books from Iowa Writers' Workshop writers next year, so maybe I'll pick it up then. ( )