''Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.'' is a 1993 autobiographical book by

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

author

Luis J. Rodriguez Luis Javier Rodriguez (born 1954) is an American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist. He was the 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate. Rodriguez is recognized as a major figure in contemporary Chicano literature, identifying himself as ...

. In the book, Rodriguez recounts his days as a member of a

street gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(specifically,

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

and the city's eastern suburbs). The book has been highly acclaimed and contrasted with the works of Louis-Ferdinand Celine and

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

's ''

Down and Out in Paris and London ''Down and Out in Paris and London'' is the first full-length work by the English author George Orwell, published in 1933. It is a memoir in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. Its target audience was the middle- and upper-cla ...

'' in its description of the lives of desperate, impoverished individuals in big cities.

Reception

''Always Running'' has frequently landed on the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

's listed of the most banned and challenged books in the United States. Between 1990 and 1999, the book landed the 85th spot of the 100 most banned and challenged books. It ranked 68th for 2000–2009.

References

Always Running ''Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.'' is a 1993 autobiographical book by Mexican-American author Luis J. Rodriguez. In the book, Rodriguez recounts his days as a member of a street gang in Los Angeles (specifically, East Los Ang ...

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