My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King (Illinois)
By:
Reymundo Sanchez
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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Description:
Looking for an escape from childhood abuse, Reymundo Sanchez turned away from school and baseball to drugs, alcohol, and then sex, and was left to fend for himself before age 14. The Latin Kings, one of the largest and most notorious street gangs in America, became his refuge and his world, but its violence cost him friends, freedom, self-respect, and nearly his life. This is a raw and powerful odyssey through the ranks of the new mafia, where the only people more dangerous than rival gangs are members of your own gang, who in one breath will say they'll die for you and in the next will order your assassination.
Description:
In My Bloody Life, Reymundo Sanchez tells a chillingly sad tale, from his birth in the back of a pickup truck in Puerto Rico to the day he quit the Latin Kings gang, 21 years later. From the first page, his narrative is unpretentious, disarmingly honest, and horrifyingly riveting. His early years were so full of pain and abuse that by the time he opts, at age 11, to hang out with the local gang, the Latin Kings, it seems a perfectly logical choice. In his shoes, any one of us--smacked nightly by a mother and beaten ragged whenever the stepfather got the chance--would likely have chosen the same path. The gang was the family that accepted him as well as the peer group that offered girls who didn't say "no." Any violence that went with the territory couldn't match the atmosphere of brutality that permeated his own home. Sanchez was a Latin King for six years and participated in innumerable bloody gang battles--years rife with sex, drugs, booze, and acts of gang revenge. He finally got up his pluck to leave (and the only way was to be "violated" out through a gang beating), but admits in his conclusion that life since then has, in some ways, been even harder. He's had to quit drugs, lose the only community he's known, support himself, and deal with the nightmares of all the horrors he's seen and done. Though Sanchez still hasn't accomplished his dream of completing college, he has managed to leave the Kings, leave Chicago, leave behind his mother's legacy of violence, and write an impressive first book. --Stephanie Gold
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Customer Review: 2 out of 5
not what i expected.. - i was expecting a tough in your face gritty account of life as a L.K. the same accounts depicted on t.v. documentaries..however i felt the book focused more on the authors sexual escapedes then his actual account of gang life..and the little written of his gang activity is based in the late 70 era..and not at all the magnitude or the rise of L.K. of the modern times of today..i found myself skimming thru ppages and skipping chapters looking for somthing worth reading..it truly lacks..
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Is it too bloody? - My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King is a story written by Reymundo Sanchez (a pseudonym). Mr. Sanchez tries to teach readers about the dangers of being a gang member. Reymundo opens a reader's eyes to the gang world by explaining his personal experiences and through his friend's experiences. The gang world is far more multifarious than how it is depicted in movies and TV shows.
Reymundo Sanchez gets an inside look on one of the largest and most organized Hispanic street gangs, by being a former gang member of the Latin Kings. As a kid Reymundo was physically abused by his parents and did not have family to lean on. At a very young age Reymundo was forced to lean on himself and was driven to the life of a gangster. Mr. Sanchez explains how he thought gangs were like a family, a "brother" is there for each other when one needs help. Soon enough he realized "brotherhood" is only strong if one can benefit from the other. He performed his first "hit" at the age of 14 and from then on, he understood the hardship his life would have to undergo just to survive.
Mr. Sanchez clearly depicts each gruesome experience he had to endure because of his gang activity. He also explains his side of the story and reveals truly how he felt inside when the use of drugs, the killing of innocent people, and promiscuous activity happened. Reymundo tells the appalling truth that makes a reader think differently about gangs. It successfully shows the dangers of being in a gang. However, it does not just give the reader stereotypical views on gang members. When a person hears gang member, the first word that pops into their heads is "bad". Most people do not bother to understand why these kids become these "bad" gang members. Reymundo explains how most kids get tangled into gangs because they were in search for a "family like" structure in their lives. Then these kids get in way over their head and cannot get out of the gang. Mr.Sanchez tells the readers how he had to get beaten up, just to get out of the gang. This is a clear example of the difficulty aspects of getting out of a gang. Then, there are emotional aspects of feeling alone, because of leaving the closest entity to family that these gang members once thought they had.
This book does not require a lot to put a reader on the edge of his or her seat. It has action, romance, a little comedy, but mostly a lot of drama. It can be a bit graphic for some people. Other readers seem to think the book was written in self pity and has bad grammar. Reymundo's book talks much about sex, drugs, and alcohol, which can also bother some readers. It is more recommended for people that are somewhat interested in the subject of gang life.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
This book was the best book I've read. - This was a great book. Maybe it wasn't written perfectly, I found mistakes in it, and the dialogue wasn't how I was taught in school but that doesn't make the book a bad book. It's the fact that this man had the courage, the bravery and so on to share his story with the world. When I read it, I feel like I'm sitting next to him as he tells me the story, it's not too proper so it makes it believable. My uncle (who wasn't as lucky as Reymundo) was also led into the Latin Kings at a VERY young age, so I can really relate to this story, because the incidents were similar. It also brought back some nightmares of mine that I had as a kid, but that's ok, it just means I am able to feel the reality of this story. Great write and it just also proves that you don't have to be a highly educated individual to write a high selling book. I recommend to everyone who is interested in the TRUTH. I hate reading, but I read this book in 2 days, it was hard to put down.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Loved it! - What a terrific book! I really felt like I got an insider's view into a world that I never really knew about. The author does a great job in telling what it is like growing up really poor, being basically abandoned, and joining a gang. Also, I was a bit worried because the book was written in 2000 that it would seem outdated today - however, don't worry about that, as it is a timeless book and events in it could have happened just yesterday.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
must read! - i read this book my freshmen year 0f highschool f0r my reading class. i was d0ne in like 5 days and this by far has t0 be the best detailed b0ok ab0ut gangs ever. n0t t0 menti0ned i 0nly lived like 5 minutes away fr0m where it all had taken place s0 i kn0w h0w it was. i l0ve his bo0ks.
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