Alejandro Grattan-Dominguez

The Dark Side of the Dream, the highly-acclaimed historical novel by Alejandro Grattan-Dominguez, is now available at Amazon.com as a paperback and a Kindle version. Against the backdrop of current immigration reform efforts in the USA the novel provides important historical perspective.

The novel depicts the struggles of Mexican immigrants to the USA by focusing on one family that migrated to Texas in 1941 and follows family members as they come to grips with a new, often hostile environment. The overall story is reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath and embodies a powerful message similar to the Roots television mini-series from 1977. 

Reviewers in the USA and Mexico have given the book rave reviews. PBS says: "It explores the uniqueness of the Mexican-American experience, yet this historical novel places it within the context of universal human dilemmas--sure to be an award-winning film."

Born in El Paso, Grattan made his way to Hollywood after college and pursued a film career. He wrote, directed and co-produced the first major Mexican-American movie, Only Once in a Lifetime, which premiered at the Kennedy Center, won the Best Film Award at the San Antonio Film Festival, and later was selected as one of the few films to represent the USA at the Deauville Film Festival in France.

In 1987 Grattan moved to Mexico, his mother’s native country, and has published six other books. For the past 17 years, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of El Ojo del Lago (Chapala.com), the most widely-read English-language magazine in Mexico. He also founded the Ajijic Writers Group in 1988 and continues to lead the twice-monthly meetings of almost 75 writers.