Hunger of Memory

The Education of Richard Rodriguez

By: Richard Rodriguez

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Hunger of Memory is the story of Mexican-American Richard Rodriguez, who begins his schooling in Sacramento, California, knowing just 50 words of English, and concludes his university studies in the stately quiet of the reading room of the British Museum. Here is the poignant journey of a "minority student" who pays the cost of his social assimilation and academic success with a painful alienation - from his past, his parents, his culture - and so describes the high price of "making it" in middle-class America.

Provocative in its positions on affirmative action and bilingual education, Hunger of Memory is a powerful political statement, a profound study of the importance of language...and the moving, intimate portrait of a boy struggling to become a man.

©1982 Richard Rodriguez (P)2018 Tantor

Great book

I struggled reading on my own, but listening was awesome. Author shared a great perspective.

His perspective on bilingual education

I enjoyed reading his perspective would like to sit down and talk to him even though that was not his intention Hos intention was to write to people he would never meet

Very informative

Great book, needs to heard/read to understand his pov that he has. Sort of a minority within a minority. Very well written. A must read if you are a Chicano

Worthy investment of time

Overall, I very much like this book. The middle third, I found, was a little bogged down with discussion of Spanish versus English usage. It picked up afterwards, however. I do wish that Rodriguez would have spent more time on the pleasure of learning. The way he paints his story is one almost strictly of external validation, but it is hard to imagine that someone would put in so, so many hours reading, simply so that someone else could acknowledge his effort. And it seems more implausible that someone would go to the effort of getting a PhD in renaissance literature only in order to receive accolades of others. There are many other prestigious professions for him to go into that would not require nearly as much thought and reflection. I wish you spoke more about that. That said, I appreciated his nuanced perspective on affirmative action. I wish they were more about his experience as a gay man but I guess I will have to read Late Victorians for that. The narrator did a very good job.

Book reads very well

It reads like a book meant to be read out loud, and the voice work is also strong. Easy to listen to and retain details.

Powerful

A very real book of a few of the realities that many Mexican Americans face.