The Circuit

Francisco Jiménez writes of his childhood growing up in an immigrant Mexican family. His narrative is simple, as from a child's point of view, but that same simplicity packs the power of a highly skilled storyteller.

Beautifully and authentically rendered by actor and playwright Adrian Vargas, these twelve stories tell of the almost unendurable journey most migrant campesinos undertake to find the "American Dream." The recording concludes with an afterword recorded by the author. The Circuit is also available in Spanish as Cajas de Cartón.

©1997 Francisco Jimé (P)2001 Audio Bookshelf

Critic reviews

Perspective and pace

Excellent audio book! I love the way this book is accessible to kids (ages 9 and up) and adults. Jimenez has a wonderful pace to his descriptions of living conditions and the constant need for the family to find work. I think this should be a must read for anyone who wants a perspective on the life of migrant farm workers in California.

helpful story, but good not great

helpful story, but good not great - I don't regret reading it, but I wish it had been a bit more engaging

An excellent listen, in English OR en español!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Circuit?
The fire that destroyed the familiy's first real house (as opposed to the makeshift shacks and tents usually provided by the farmer-employers).

Have you listened to any of Adrian Vargas’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I also listened to the version in Spanish, and it was equally wonderful.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
I think a film SHOULD be made of this fine collection of well-structured vignettes: the tag line could be, 'an updated, and livelier, Grapes of Wrath'.

Any additional comments?

The childhood life of A migrant farm worker

This is the autobiographical story of the life of a child in a Mexican migrant farm worker family. The author tried to write a story which would be accessible to both children and adults. It is the story of a hard-working family faces most of the problems of a migrant family but the boy who is the narrator of the story very positively wins out over the problems until the man in the green uniform from the border patrol comes into his eighth-grade classroom and take him away.

true story

I liked how it wad a true story
and how it was about what happened to him