!Caramba!

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
¡Caramba! -- Martínez tells readers it's a word to use "when you don't know what to say." So what better title for this rollicking, wholly original novel? Martínez weaves several interconnected plots throughout the text, but the narrative (English with a healthy mix of Spanglish) revolves around a cast of appealing characters. Javier is the leader of a band of born-again mariachis; and Lucha is a drug-trafficking ex-con with whom he falls in love. Then there's Javier's mother, Lulabell, who he fears is in cahoots with the devil. True-Dee is a drag queen/beautician whose two best friends, Natalie and Consuelo (Nat and Sway), work at a cheese plant. And let's not forget Don Pancho, Consuelo's recently deceased father, a onetime philanderer who makes regular appearances in the dreams of the living while he awaits release from "The Perg." Also sprinkled throughout the book are Martínez's "artifacts" -- maps, newspaper clippings, legal documents, and a listing of jukebox songs, as well as pictures and prophetic sayings from La Lotería, a popular game of chance.

As sensuous as Oscar Hijuelos's The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, as magical as a mariachi serenade, and as much fun as the title suggests, Martínez's novel is pure pleasure, Mexican-American style. What more is there to say but...¡Caramba! (Summer 2004 Selection)

Carmela Ciuraru

… ¡Caramba! is so endlessly inventive and full of such oddball humor that it remains compelling throughout.
— The Washington Post

Publishers Weekly

Lava Landing, Calif., home of a dormant volcano and the annual Miss Magma beauty pageant, is the setting for this effervescent, luminous debut. Although the novel has a slew of protagonists, readers first meet Natalie and Consuelo (Nat and Sway), two firecrackers with an "ever growing fascination with the wideness of the world." Sway's father is recently deceased and stuck in purgatory ("The Perg"); the only way to get him out is to go to his hometown in Mexico, gather the townspeople, visit the railroad tracks where he was killed and pray for him. As Sway has a phobia of long car rides and public transportation, Nat must go. Meanwhile, Martinez, in a bubbly mix of English and Spanglish, spins a plethora of side plots, among them the struggle of a born-again Christian mariachi who falls for an ex-convict; the search for true love by Lulabell, who's fashioned an anthropological map of Mexico detailing which regions are known for which kinds of men; and the triumph of True-Dee, a frustrated drag queen/beautician. Martinez draws on magical realism, kitschy humor and tongue-in-cheek cliches (e.g., "True-Dee was oh so nervous as she walked into the Bowling Alley Cafe"), but there's truth behind the zany humor. Martinez's soap opera-silly story belies serious truth telling about love and happiness in life and death. And as if the fabulously ludicrous plot weren't enough, Martinez illustrates her work with "artifacts," including Mexican Loteria cards, letters written by True-Dee to an advice columnist and the classified ad Lulabell runs in the local paper, selling her soul to the highest bidder. Agent, Susan Bergholz. (Apr.) Forecast: Martinez's brand of Mexican-American humor should appeal to fans of Sandra Cisneros's Caramelo. She will go on a nine-city tour and make national media appearances, including NPR. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This manic first novel, about the wacky goings-on in small Lava Landing, CA, is written in the form of la loteria, a Mexican version of bingo. Each chapter represents a turn of the cards, in which characters play out their destinies against the backdrop of a dormant volcano. Among them are Javier, a born-again Christian mariachi; his mother, Lulabell, a practicing witch; Lucha, Javier's beloved, who wants to sell her former lover's several kilos of cocaine; and True-Dee, the transvestite beautician. Central to the narrative are Natalie and Consuelo (Nat and Sway), best friends since second grade. Their two goals-rescuing Sway's deceased father from purgatory and overcoming her phobia about driving long distances-impel much of the action. The book is imbued with magical realism and features dichos (Mexican proverbs), pictures of Loteria cards, and Lava Landing artifacts like the playlist of the jukebox at a local bar. Essential for public libraries serving Hispanic populations and a great read for the rest of the country as well. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/03.]-Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Never calling themselves Latinas or Hispanics or hyphenated anythings, the Mexican-Americans in a southern California town enjoy the hell out of pretty much everything in a slangy, self-assured debut. Best girlfriends Natalie Stevens and Consuelo "Sway" Gonzales Contreras, a couple of cuties in their 20s are at the heart of things in this confection, but they share the stage with a fairly large cast of ghosts, whores, evangelical mariachi musicians, day laborers, transvestites, and a volcano as an eventful summer elapses in Lava Landing, a community miles from the news but not far from the Mexican border. Nat and Sway work, not too awfully hard, in a cheese factory, spending their off-hours shopping, getting their hair done, cruising in Nat's Caddy convertible, flirting, and problem solving. One problem that's stumped them so far is Consuelo's fear of public transportation, a phobia linked to the tragic death of her father Don Pancho, who met his end one boozy evening back in Mexico when his truck stalled on the railroad tracks. Don Pancho's ghost pops up time and again, seeking help getting out of Purgatory and visiting the many ladies in his earthly life. While the girls put their agile minds to Don Pancho's problem, their friend and grade-school classmate Javier, a virginal, born-again musician, tries to reconcile his lust for the loose and lovely Lucha with his religious code, and Lulabelle, Javier's mum, tries to decide whether to break her decades-long pact with the devil and give up all the household maintenance and yard break she's been getting from studly day laborers in trade for her sexual favors. True-Dee, everybody's favorite beautician, has all she can handle seeking advicefrom agony aunts about a sex change, organizing her annual Tupperware party, and, finally, getting involved with a gang of crypto-vulcanologists. Everybody dances when there's a little bit of time, and there's always something interesting to eat. It's all totally inconsequential and a great deal of fun. Chica-lit to be savored in small bites. Author tour. Agent: Susan Bergholz