Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo
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| Author | Oscar Zeta Acosta |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiographical, Novel |
| Publisher | Straight Arrow Books |
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Publication date
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1972 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 508276 |
| 978/.0046872/0092 B 21 | |
| LC Class | CT275.A186 A3 |
| Followed by | The Revolt of the Cockroach People |
Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo is the first novel by Oscar Zeta Acosta and it focuses on his own self-discovery in a fictionalized manner. An autobiography, the plot presents an alienated lawyer of Mexican descent, who works in an Oakland, California antipoverty agency, without any sense of purpose or identity.
This character survives on drugs, alcohol, and counseling sessions until he transforms into a Chicano activist. At the end of the work, the protagonist adds the middle name of "Zeta," a symbol which represents his Chicano and Mexican culture and roots. By traveling to his birthplace, the lost character discovers himself and learns lessons on the road as he reflects on his life. On the back of some copy of the books it says "Oscar Zeta Acosta was famous as a Robin Hood Chicano Lawyer and notorious as the real-life model for Hunter S. Thompson's "Dr. Gonzo"" a character in book and movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
The first five chapters take place on July 1, 1967; the narrative, however, is frequently broken up by flashbacks that explain the narrator’s relationship with various characters. The story begins in the morning as the narrator is preparing to go to work. Standing naked in front of the mirror, he reflects on his large brown body and his general health. He is both constipated and suffers from ulcers, which cause him to vomit. While looking in the mirror, he seeks advice from his “three favorite men”: Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson. He also hears the voice of Dr. Serbin, his psychiatrist, who seems to be following him and who appears throughout the novel. The narrator masturbates in the shower while fantasizing about a friend’s wife.
The narrator leaves his apartment in San Francisco and drives to Oakland where he works as a legal aid lawyer. He has worked in the office since he passed the bar exam 12 months before. To get through the tedium of filing countless restraining orders for battered women and to deal with his inability to help the clients in a system that favors those with the money to pay high priced lawyers, the narrator has spent the past year watching television, taking tranquillizers, and drinking.
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