The House of Broken Angels (by Luís Alberto Urrea)

This is the saga of a Mexican-American family told via two events: Big Angel's mother's funeral and then, the next day, his last birthday party (he is dying of cancer). The characters are vivid, the writing is fantastic, the compassionate view of all aspects of Mexican-American culture is especially needed at this moment in time. So why didn't I love it more? I don't know. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for a sprawling family saga? It is genuinely a great novel but I didn't fall in love. Maybe the Tournament of Books discussions will add to my appreciation as time goes on.