Review of What It Takes to Get to Vegas (Paperback)

I was hooked by the first few pages of Murray's fast-paced, street-wise story of Rita. Murray's writing is fresh, powerful; she made me care about Rita -- in the beginning. The novel seemed to wane in the middle; Rita'smom disappears almost as soon as she is introduced, then re-appearssuddenly -- although Rita supposedly still lives at home as an adult. Themen and all the women of the barrio are stone stereotypes who could've beencreated by just about any Anglo writer. And while I understand that thestories of the Ritas in el barrio should be told, I wanted something morethan the stereotypical 'hot-mama, promiscuous Latina.' These charactershave been done to death -- it's time for them to die. Why is it that inorder for a woman (fictional and real) to get to the top or to get respect,she has to spread her legs? With respect to the previous reviewer (C.Guerrero "Dreaming in Cuban"? ), for the sake of the children whohave yet to escape, I certainly hope this isn't what it takes to get out ofthe ghetto. As a professor of law, as a Latina, as a woman, does Murraywant us to believe this of her? Hopefully, she will incorporate somepositive attributes into her next barrio character or perhaps she should'write what she knows.' And if she really came from the ghetto-barrio, shewould know that sometimes good things -- and good girls -- do come from badsurroundings.



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