Overview
The new fiction of America's young Latinos is as diverse as the writers themselves. Exciting stories by Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and others of Hispanic descent make this anthology a showcase for the craft and vision of new Latino writers north of the border, immigrant or American-born. From El Paso to Miami Beach, from Denver to Brooklyn, these authors are the best and most innovative talents emerging from the Hispanic community today. Some of them have made an overt break with the past, choosing to explore fictional universes. Others are determinedly realistic, portraying prejudice and loss of hope, street life and family violence. Still others remain political, describing the brutality that occurs in their homelands. The result is a collection filled with literature to enjoy, writing to savor, and art to excite our imaginations and expand our world.Editorials
Library Journal
These authors share more than a common heritage as Latino Americans. Each one possesses the power to craft a beautiful tale, as illustrated in this collection of 23 short stories. Some of the authors, like Virgil Suarez (Going Under, LJ 9/15/96), have already been published, while others are virtually unknown to the literary world. These vignettes, sometimes as short as four pages, sear into one's memory, leaving an indelible mark. The rich imagery pervading these stories, accompanied by strongly developed characters, combines to create unforgettable stories. The ever-changing settings, from Mexico's fertile wilderness to New York City's asphalt wastelands, match the shifting tones of the stories. They stretch to both ends of the spectrum, from the devastating tale of a 16-year-old pregnant junkie, trapped in a hopeless world of addiction, to the heartwarming recipe for a happy soul. These poignant tales will inspire hope, laughter, and maybe a tear or two. Highly recommended for all collections.-Erin Cassin, "Library Journal"Kirkus Reviews
The pangs of cultural dislocation and the pressures imposed by both rural and urban poverty are central themes in this generous anthology of 23 stories by mostly unfamiliar Hispanic-American writers.The collection's general unevenness may be observed in microcosm in editor-contributor Stavans's savvy Introduction (an overview of the recent "renaissance" of such writing) and also in his story "The Kiss," a tale of revenge that feels oddly dispassionate and detached. A few stories, conversely, feel unduly melodramatic, and several are only anecdotal (Danny Romero's "Crime," Anthony Castro's rather wooden "Soldier," Ysa T. Nuñez's plaintive "Broadway"). More successful pieces are distinguished by a language appropriate to their content (Erasmo Guerra's elegiac "Last Words," told in a straightforward, perfectly credible pidgin English; Michelle M. Serros's "The Next Big Thing," the unabashed confession of a rock music groupie, featuring a racy, witty, cynical voice). Among stories by newer writers, Veronica González's "Through the Raw Meat" transcribes with clinical and poetic precision a dreamy girl's fixation on a handsome butcher's apprentice; Sergio Troncoso's "Angie Luna" expertly weaves together a boy's rediscovery of his Mexican heritage with his amazed discovery of both sex and love; and Andrew Rivera's "A Day of the Dead," driven by a splendidly calculated character contrast, explores with as much tenderness as irony the emotions that disturb a teenage boy required to accompany his aging grandfather on a "graveyard tour." Pieces by veteran writers include Virgil Suarez's tale of spiritual possession exorcised by a neighborhood healer ("Salvation"); and Demetria Martínez Jr.'s harrowing "Babies," a slice of down-and-out street life told in a blisteringly vigorous argot by its feisty lost-soul protagonist.
Neither better nor worse than many recent anthologies with a similar intent—though it's unquestionably a bargain at .