Orlando Ortega-Medina’s last novel, The Death of Baseball was a sprawling novel which spanned different countries and characters and included themes such as gender acceptance and finding one’s roots. Plus it had Marilyn Monroe reincarnating in one of the main protagonists of the book.
Ortega-Medina’s current book, The Savior of 6th Street is a tighter affair. There’s one main character and the focus is Los Angeles’ art world. However just because things are tighter, it doesn’t mean that everything is scaled down. This time round there’s drag queens, corrupt businessmen and a Santería priestess.
Virgilio Santos is an artist. He’s had a tough life, living for his art and coping with his priestess mother. One day a dealer buys all his works. At first he’s proud and strikes up a deep friendship, despite being warned not to. Eventually he finds out that her father is a city overlord and his fame is set by parameters which can easily cost his life and the lives of the people close to him.
Orlando Ortega-Medina is a very good storyteller; his characters are realistic and bend stereotypes, there’s a page turning quality to his books and he doesn’t shy away from controversy but it’s never for shock value. There’s also a fun element. The Savior of 6th Street is a good solid novel in every sense of the word. There’s twists and turns, action and pathos. Also, the reader learns about how individuals of mixed race were treated in the 80’s and the non mainstream art scene of the time.
The Savior of 6th Street proves that Ortega Orlando-Medina can juggle different styles and still come out with an interesting piece of work. I have a feeling that each book is a different step so I will be eager to see what the next move will be.
Many thanks to Cloud Lodge Books for providing a copy of The Savior of 6th Street.
The Bobsphere 