Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Days of Obligation

By: Richard Rodriguez
Narrated by: Michael Anthony
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

In a series of 10 essays, spanning five centuries of history, beginning with the conquest of Mexico by Hermán Cortés and ending in 1992 San Francisco, Rodriguez explores the conflicts of race, religion, and cultural identity for Mexican-Americans across the landscape of his beloved California.

The book's "argument" poses Mexico and the United States as moral rivals. Mexico wears the mask of tragedy, the United States wears the mask of comedy. By the end of the book, the reader recognizes an historical irony: the United States is becoming a culture of tragedy; Mexico, meanwhile, revels in youthful optimism. Mexico and the United States have changed roles.

©1992 Richard Rodriguez (P)1994 Blackstone Audio Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Luminous....[Rodriguez's] insights, irony and descriptions make the writing richly evocative." (Publishers Weekly)
"Days of Obligation looks into America, north and south of the Rio Grande, as penetratingly and eloquently as Camus did when he compared the mental landscapes of France and Algiers." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)
"The best American essayist as far as I'm concerned....[Rodriguez] doesn't kowtow to political correctness. He shuns the pack, rides alone. He writes a lonely line of individualism, the grandeur and grief of the American soul." (Village Voice)

What listeners say about Days of Obligation

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.