Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Castillo, Ana - Louise Titchener (review date 1 September 1996)

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Louise Titchener (review date 1 September 1996)

SOURCE: “Love among the Golden Cockroaches,” in Washington Post Book World, Vol. XXVI, No. 35, September 1, 1996, p. 6.

[In the following mixed review of Loverboys, Titchener states that the short stories display skillful characterizations, but are lacking in plot.]

WARNING: I prefer stories with sympathetic or, at least, engaging protagonists. I regard a clear conflict with a satisfying resolution at the story's end as important plot elements. I subscribe to the “show-don't-tell” theory of storytelling and love to watch characters come to life on a page by means of action and dialogue. Unfortunately for me and for readers who share my literary tastes, Ana Castillo's short story collection, Loverboys, rarely satisfies these desires. Love is the central theme in Castillo's short stories. She presents love in its many guises—lustful, yearning, romantic, parental,...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Norma Alarcón (essay date 1989)
   2. Margaret Randall (review date September 1989)
   3. Alvina E. Quintana (essay date 1991)
   4. Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano (essay date Spring 1992)
   5. Irene Campos Carr (review date Spring 1993)
   6. Barbara Kingsolver (review date 16 May 1993)
   7. James Polk (review date 31 May 1993)
   8. Irene Campos Carr (review date Fall 1993)
   9. Heiner Bus (essay date Fall–Winter 1993)
   10. Ana Castillo with Elsa Saeta (interview date 1993–1994)
   11. Ilan Stavans (review date 14 January 1994)
   12. Ibis Gómez-Vega (essay date Spring–Summer 1994)
   13. Tanya Hellein (review date 30 September 1994)
   14. Ana Castillo with Samuel Baker (interview date 12 August 1996)
   15. Sandra Scofield (review date 25 August 1996)
   16. Louise Titchener (review date 1 September 1996)
   17. Tanya Long Bennett (essay date Fall 1996)
   18. Anne Bower (essay date 1997)
   19. Brian Evenson (review date Spring 1997)
   20. Colette Morrow (essay date Spring 1997)
   21. Jane Caputi (review date May 1997)
   22. Carmela Delia Lanza (essay date Spring 1998)
   23. Roland Walter (essay date Spring 1998)
   24. Manuel Luis Martinez (review date 26 September 1999)
   25. Maya Socolovsky (essay date Fall 1999)
   26. Renee H. Shea (essay date March–April 2000)
   27. Ralph E. Rodriguez (essay date Summer 2000)
   28. Silvio Sirias and Richard McGarry (essay date Summer 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright