2 out of 4 stars
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Very few of us get the opportunity to live an eventful life and reminisce about it. In his memoir, Jesus Comes to Jingletown, Dale Trujillo chronicles his life story.
Jingletown is the place where the author grew up. He moved here at the age of three. His father, a World War II veteran, soon became an alcoholic and abandoned their family. Dale, along with his mother and half-brother, Dennis, had to undergo a lot of hardships to survive. There was a time when they had to steal to fill their bellies. Despite this, Dale had a quaint childhood. Together with the Jingletown kids, he formed a group called the “fellas". They encountered many different personalities like the Blind Man, Stepper, Kicker, Carver, etc. Some of them were kind while some were downright evil. Their gang got into many adventures. Soon, Dale's mother remarried. His step-father, Jim, was a hardworking man who provided for the family. Their happiness was complete when little Denise was born. However, Denise died of a tumour at the tender age of six. This left Dale distraught. While his family parents turned to Jesus, he no longer believed in God. Soon he fell in love. When he turned eighteen, he joined the navy. After serving his time in Vietnam, he returned to the States. However, things became difficult for him."Jingletown was full of a variety of characters with colorful personalities."
Will Dale overcome his difficulties? Will he find peace? All these questions are answered in his story, Jesus Comes to Jingletown.
Jesus Comes to Jingletown takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride. Trujillo truly pours his heart out in this book. He recounts the “Sunday picnics, drippy ice cream cones at the local Frosty-Freeze drive-in, families together watching G-rated friendly T.V. programs, and hot summer nights at the drive-in picture show” that was prevalent in the 1950s. On the other hand, he also talks about the drug problem that was slowly creeping in the American society. I also liked the way he portrayed the plight of the Vietnam veterans. At that time, the entire society was against them and branded them as “baby killers". After all the hardships they faced in Vietnam, there was nobody they could turn to when they returned home. I truly felt bad for them.
The writing style of the author is pretty straight-forward. He engages the reader by addressing him in between the text. This makes the reader feel like a part of Dale's journey. I really liked this.
Despite the positive points, there were a number of shortcomings in this book. There was a plethora of errors throughout the book. Also, I feel that the book could be shortened as many parts were repeated. This made it a bit redundant. I did not like this. I believe that this book definitely needs a round of editing and proofreading.
Keeping in mind the pros and cons, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Had it not been for the errors, I would have given it another star. I would recommend this book to those who like to read about people finding Jesus. I believe people who like memoirs may also enjoy this book.
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Jesus comes to Jingletown
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