(Editor’s Note: Jim Price, a native Nogales son, has published his first novel, “Of People, Poppies & God,” which he says was 50 years in the making. Fellow Nogalian, Thomas Aranda Jr., retired Air Force fighter pilot, attorney, and former Chief of Hispanic Affairs under former President Gerald Ford wrote this for the Nogales International.. He now lives in Prescott.)

The bi-cultural, bi-lingual portrayals� bring back fond memories� although non-native readers may not� find them as memorable.� My first feeling was that there were some parallels between the protagonist and my friend Jimmy Price, not totally but some; after reading the entire novel I find that there are a few but most of them are peripheral.� 

I like the paced nature, the sense of humor and the mix of raunch and morals peppered throughout; they help us see the pain and beauty that belonged to the human condition of that day.� The initial character development� hovers on the edge of sentimentality and shows me� lives and a world from a perspective that I recall occupying. Again,� non-local readers may not have the same recall but could see it from� an analogous perspective. � 

Machismo

The� actions of our protagonist describe the "machismo" that was imbued in all of us (Nogales boys)� from birth; that strange mixture of strength and vulnerability; the use of a hard exterior to shield a sensitive soul; the notion that retreat is the same as defeat, all of this no doubt deeply rooted in the seamless combination of Ambos Nogales culture, and made evident by Jimmy’s forceful defense of principle, his moral obsession over actions of-self-defense and his constant concern over his friends’ problems and foibles. That he was sincere in his principles and had enormous courage, there is no doubt, and he is as generous to the virtues of Uncle Charlie as he is clear-eyed to Charlie’s moral failings.

The novel is well paced but does not become a page-turner until Jimmy finishes military training and enters the world of military intelligence where his life and the lives of his old and new friends intertwine with interesting and potentially devastating effects, chronicling the fateful intertwining of these culturally-crossed souls, expertly crafting an unusual love story with an intriguing, atmospheric peek into the world of narcotics.

This stand-alone novel from the author of many articles and stories as a journalist, succeeds brilliantly on several levels - as an inside look at life in a small border town, as an exploration of the infallibility of memory and as an absorbing mystery. The author is in total command of his material, weaving strands about race, family-myths and self-esteem into a mystery so taut, the reader is anxious to keep going.

The story is both interesting and auspicious, and evolves into a plot which excites the senses and which finds itself punctuating the author’s points in colorful, compelling and colloquial ways. In the end Jimmy links the past with the present and reaches the point of vindication, reunion and redemption.

The novel was published by Eloquent Books of New York.