"In this stirring collection of eleven stories set in Latino communities in the northeast, J. L. Torres crafts deft reflections on what it means to live within the larger culture. In the story "A Natural Thing," Eric and Monica's lovemaking is interrupted by an odd sound. Eric has a sinking feeling that it has something to do with his grandfather. He's mortified when he sees what has entered the room: "A full-grown rooster, its wattles cut, the feathers trimmed except the wings; its legs plucked to pimpled skin, strutting and bobbing its head like it owned the place." Instantly, Eric realizes that Don Epifanio has converted the basement into a cockfighting ring." "Torres' characters reveal the quandaries that people with dual cultures and allegiances face. A son who follows his father's wish to be buried in his beloved isla but can't seem to meet his father's other wish to not be covered with the American flag - a right he earned as a veteran of World War II and Korea. A Nuyorican visiting his aunt in Cayey is fascinated with a run-down shack where a mysterious woman lives, surrounded by conflicting stories about her life and loves. In the Bronx, Ralph and Lou are unnerved by a spooky sight: eight red Kerchiefs tied, equidistantly apart on a cyclone fence. Even mysticism and spirituality create cultural ambiguity for the common people who populate these insightful stories."--BOOK JACKET.

Log in to favorite or list