Burro Genius, Victor Villasenor
Burro Genius, Victor Villasenor
1 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Burro Genius
A Memoir

Author: Victor Villaseñor

Narrator: Robert Fass

Unabridged: 11 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/14/2019


Synopsis

When Victor Villaseñor stood at the podium and looked at the group of teachers amassed before him, he became enraged. He had never spoken in public before. His mind was flooded with childhood memories filled with humiliation, misunderstanding, and abuse at the hands of his teachers. With his heart pounding, he began to speak of these incidents. To his disbelief, the teachers before him responded to his embittered recollection with a standing ovation. Many could not contain their own tears.

So begins a touching memoir of an extremely angry adolescent. Highly gifted and imaginative, Villaseñor coped with an untreated learning disability (he was finally diagnosed with extreme dyslexia at the age of forty-four) and the frustration he felt growing up Latino in an English-only American school system that had neither the cultural understanding nor the resources to deal with Latino students.

Often beaten by his teachers because he could not speak English, Villaseñor was made to feel ashamed about his heritage, and even questioned the core values prioritized by his tight-knit family. Villaseñor's dyslexia, and growing frustration over not fitting in, fueled his dream to one day become a writer. He is now considered one of the premier writers of our time.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Erik on April 26, 2009

Not very often does a book grab you by the throat and challenge your preconceptions. Yet Villasenor’s memoir does just that as he recounts growing up as an “other” in southern California. Born into a successful middle-class family of Mexican decent, Villasenor quickly learned two things when he star......more

Goodreads review by Terry on March 27, 2022

Overall, I enjoyed this memoir. As an educator, it really hurt to see how these teachers treated Victor during his school years. In the 40s and 50s, educators didn’t know how to “teach” Mexican and black children. They would seat them in the back of the room and point out their faults to the entire......more

Goodreads review by Nathaniel on October 24, 2022

The book I have chosen for English was “ Praise of Burro Genius” I am going to be listing many things about my book. The book basically starts of with a book publisher by the name victor who has a opportunity at a school board meeting we’re there are many publishers and he hasn’t even sold a book be......more

Goodreads review by Ivan on November 08, 2017

The author of Burro Genius is Victor Villaseñor and struggled when trying to publish the book because it received more than 260 rejections. This book was published on June 29, 2004. Villaseñor is a Mexican-American author who was often made fun of and hurt by teachers due to the fact that he did not......more

Goodreads review by Allison on January 07, 2025

1st book of the year and it is going to be difficult to beat. Villaseñor speaks to the teacher in me, reinforcing the importance of celebrating the importance of each student’s heritage and listening to what they have to say.......more