Move Over, Steinbeck: Watsonville, California, Has A New Literary Star
Jaime Cortez's debut collection, Gordo, is set in and around the same dusty California town that inspired John Steinbeck. It's a lovely portrait of a time and place that still manages to be universal.
Ask any book-loving central Californian which author they associate with the city of Watsonville, and they'll probably mention the name of Golden State legend John Steinbeck. The town was reportedly the inspiration for Steinbeck's novel In Dubious Battle, and was the longtime home of his sister, Esther Rodgers. (Her house is still there, on Santa Cruz County's fairgrounds.)
But Steinbeck might not be the No. 1 literary pride of Watsonville for long., whose debut short story collection, , is set in and around the Pajaro Valley town. Cortez's book is an unforgettable portrait of the working-class Mexican Americans who lived there in the 1970s — including the charming misfit title character, who narrates most of the stories.
