Bodega Dreams

Authors: Quiñonez, Ernesto
Genres: Family, Urban & Street Literature
Topics: Family, Short Story, Idealism, Latino, Drugs, Hispanic, American expansion
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
BISAC/Subject: FIC043000, FIC048000, FIC056000
ISBN: 9780804154055, Related ISBNs: 0375705899, 0804154058, 9780375705892, 9780804154055
Classification: Fiction
Number of pages: 224,
Audience: General/trade
Synopsis: In this "thriller with literary merit" (Time Out New York), a stunning narrative combines the gritty rhythms of Junot Diaz with the noir genius of Walter Mosley.

Bodega Dreams pulls us into Spanish Harlem, where the word is out: Willie Bodega is king. Need college tuition for your daughter? Start-up funds for your fruit stand? Bodega can help. He gives everyone a leg up, in exchange only for loyalty—and a steady income from the drugs he pushes.

Lyrical, inspired, and darkly funny, this powerful debut novel brilliantly evokes the trial of Chino, a smart, promising young man to whom Bodega turns for a favor. Chino is drawn to Bodega's street-smart idealism, but soon finds himself over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder.

"Bodega is a fascinating character. . . . The story [Quiñonez] tells has energy and verve." —The New York Times Book Review
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