Retablos, Stories from a Life Along the Border by Octavio Solis is a book of autobiographical short stories. Solis is a playwright living in Ashland, Or where I am about to see his play Quixote Nuevo for the fourth time as part of the 90th season of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. His writing is so honest and simple and direct, evoking memories of his childhood lived along the Texas/Mexico border.

Sometimes I was longing for a more complete picture of his life and how he became the playwright that he is today. We get a glimpse of that here, but not much. These are stories that come even earlier, and we feel as if we are getting a window into the soul of a young brown boy on the border just trying to discover who he is – with all the pain and sadness and joy that comes with the territory.

A worthwhile read.