Friends of Milagros – Hola!
We hope you will join us for our upcoming book launch of Francisco Cantú’s book The Line Becomes A River, a New York Times bestseller and recent Book of the Week on Radio 4, on Tuesday 20th March from 6.30pm. The event will take place at our Milagros shop, 61 Columbia Rd, E2.
Tuesday 20th March from 6.30pm. The event will take place at our Milagros shop, 61 Columbia Rd, E2.
The book is an unflinching account of Cantú’s four years spent working as a US Border Patrol agent along the US-Mexican border, from 2008-2012, before quitting amidst a swirl of harrowing experiences and stress related nightmares. There is, however, no need for a swat team of Netflix screenwriters to concoct the almost constant tragedy and acts of mercy that Cantú’s tales of the border record in episodic bursts. As a third generation Mexican migrant, border agent, pursuant and rescuer of desert-parched and fearful migrants the author cuts a controversial figure. The book is part sobering account of this brutal border regime and the lives it devastates, and part self-examination of his role within it. The Line Becomes A River pivots on the enigma of why Cantú chose to commit to the defence of an abstract line drawn by politicians and geometers, yet provides many answers through the profound insights his police work allowed.
‘Stunningly good. Beautiful, smart, raw, sad, poetic and humane… It’s the best thing I’ve read for ages’, James Rebanks, author of THE SHEPHERD’S LIFE
Cantú will read from his book and there will be a short discussion, after which all guests are invited to a Mezcal tasting introduced by the author.
Don’t miss out on the 10% reduction on all our hand-crafted Mexican glassware, ceramics and objet d’art that we’ll be giving away on all in-store sales that day.
Biography:
Francisco Cantú served as an agent for the United States Border Patrol from 2008 to 2012, working in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. A former Fulbright fellow, he is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and a 2017 Whiting Award. His writing and translations have been featured in The Best American Essays, Harper’s, n+1, Orion, and Guernica, as well as on This American Life. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1114414/the-line-becomes-a-river/#aep1XV3q1vMFOhcp.99
