The House of Broken Angels

By: Luis Alberto Urrea

Narrated by: Luis Alberto Urrea

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

In this "raucous, moving, and necessary" story by a Pulitzer Prize finalist (San Francisco Chronicle), the De La Cruzes, a family on the Mexican-American border, celebrate two of their most beloved relatives during a joyous and bittersweet weekend.

"All we do, mija, is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death."

In his final days, beloved and ailing patriarch Miguel Angel de La Cruz, affectionately called Big Angel, has summoned his entire clan for one last legendary birthday party. But as the party approaches, his mother, nearly 100, dies, transforming the weekend into a farewell doubleheader. Among the guests is Big Angel's half brother, known as Little Angel, who must reckon with the truth that although he shares a father with his siblings, he has not, as a half gringo, shared a life.

Across two bittersweet days in their San Diego neighborhood, the revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of Big Angel and his mother, and recounting the many inspiring tales that have passed into family lore, the acts both ordinary and heroic that brought these citizens to a fraught and sublime country and allowed them to flourish in the land they have come to call home.

Teeming with brilliance and humor, authentic at every turn, The House of Broken Angels is Luis Alberto Urrea at his best, and cements his reputation as a storyteller of the first rank.

"Epic...Rambunctious...Highly entertaining." (New York Times Book Review)

"Intimate and touching...the stuff of legend." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"An immensely charming and moving tale." (Boston Globe)

National Bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

A New York Times Notable Book

One of the Best Books of the Year from National Public Radio, American Library Association, San Francisco Chronicle, BookPage, Newsday, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Literary Hub

©2018 Luis Alberto Urrea (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Luis Alberto Urrea's The House of Broken Angels is a vivid portrait of one Mexican-American family in San Diego and the complexities of immigration and heritage. The patriarch of the De La Cruz family decides to throw a huge birthday party in the last days of his life, but his mother also dies in the days leading up to the event, leading to a bittersweet celebration of both of their lives and their family's legacy." (Jarry Lee, Buzzfeed)

"Exuberant...Urrea has written a vital, vibrant book about the immigrant experience that is a messy celebration of life's common joys and sorrows." (Publishers Weekly)

"This, the most personal book by the great American novelist Luis Alberto Urrea, is one of the most vivid and engrossing family epics of the last 20 years." (Dave Eggers, National Book Award finalist and New York Times best-selling author of The Circle)

absolutely love the journey !

Although the story and characters are fictional, knowing the authors background you cant help but place your own family in some of these situations. being from a family ok the frontera we know some of these situations all too well. thank you Luis Alberto Urrea for this amazing story.

Excellent book - highly recommend

Really enjoyed this book. The story was solid and engaging to keep me coming back. More importantly, the writing was fantastic, beautiful and vivid. Having the author read it added even greater depth and authenticity. Helped bring the book to life.

Brilliant

Brilliant story crafting and brilliant story telling. Urrea's narration makes the story come to life.

Started really slow, but got better

So many characters, it was hard to follow at times. It started really slow, I almost stopped listening. But, I'm glad I continued because I actually liked it in the end.

I was so sad the book ended...

This book was a book club selection, and I’m so glad that it was! I commute about 30 minutes each way, to and from work every day, and since I can’t read while driving, it’s easy to listen to books and spend that time well, when in the car. I loved that the author was also the narrator, and that made the story feel very real, and created a more personal experience for me. I felt almost like I was there, as the story happened, because of the delightfully detailed descriptions, conversations among the characters, and inner thoughts of Big Angel.
I hope the story will be continued somehow, and will definitely be reading/listening to more by Urrea, in the future.

Incredible!!

It took me more than halfway through this book to really get into it and appreciate the genius of the story. The author’s narration added so much. It was like a play with all the different characters. Simply genius.

Great story!

I really enjoyed this rambling,rich family extravaganza. Tha performance by the author is outstanding. A fun and rewarding listen

So fun. So charming.

I loved it. I’m sorry it’s over. I listen to it slowly to make it last.

Engaging performance

I can’t imagine trying to read this from a book. The author is a wonderful story teller and really made this great and emotional entertainment. I wish my high school Spanish was better! Reminds you that all families are messy.

I cried, I laughed, I loved

The House of Broken Angels is an masterpiece! It is a modern day Latino 100 years of Solitude but way more accessible. Urrea’s stories capture the intricacies of being from two countries but not really feeling wholly of either. The love and dysfunction of families is depicted beautifully. Can’t live with them can’t live without them. I read a lot and very few times have I seen my own story reflected so accurately. here were the crane asadas with my family, the neighbors I grew up with as well as the never-ending list of uncles, aunts and cousins. I don’t know much about Urrea but at his core, he must be a poet and in love with words. This book is to be read and savored for the beauty and philosophy he captures with so much simplicity. However, you must also listen to him narrate it because he is a master and the characters come alive with his narration. I found myself laughing like an idiot and thinking of these people as my own family....how I want to eat pancakes with the Satanic Hispanic, the lead singer of a faux Norwegian heavy metal band. I have always wanted to write the story of my family partly because I thought it was so crazy and different...I am reassured to see how alike some of our experiences as U. S. Latinos are and it feels good that someone is finally telling our stories.