For Love of the Dollar
A Memoir
For Love of the Dollar is a young writer's tale of ambitions undermined by economic forces, racial divides and artistic hubris. Hilarious, irreverent, even cynical, Servín worked in kitchens, gas stations, golf courses, and finally, as a "manny" for a dysfunctional Connecticut family. His view of the plight of the undocumented worker confronts as much what it means to be Mexican, as it does American, laying bare a version of the American dream few have had the courage to articulate.
J.M. Servín is an author of a half-dozen books of fiction and nonfiction. He won the National Prize for Testimonial Writing in 2001 and the Fernando Benítez National Prize for Cultural Journalism in 2004. His novels, short story collections, and memoirs — including For the Love of the Dollar — have all been named books of the year by Reforma newspaper. After a decade in Mexico City, he now lives in the city of Oaxaca, where he coordinates the narrative journalism project Producciones el Salario del Miedo.
