Bodega Dreams - Paperback

by Ernesto Quiñonez (Author)

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

Front Jacket

A new and authentic voice of the urban Latino experience. --Esmeralda Santiago, author of When I Was Puerto Rican
In a stunning narrative combining the gritty rhythms of Junot Diaz with the noir genius of Walter Mosley, Bodega Dreams announces the arrival of a writer who "The Village Voice has already hailed as "a Writer on the Verge."
The word is out in Spanish Harlem: Willy 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.
Lyric, 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.

Back Jacket

The word is out in Spanish Harlem: 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 for loyalty -- and a steady income from the drugs he pushes.

Lyric, inspired, and darkly funny, this powerful debut novel brilliantly evokes the trials 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 in over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder.

Author Biography

Ernesto Quiñonez was born in Ecuador, but arrived to New York City he was eighteen months old and was raised in El Barrio, East Harlem. Quiñonez is also the author of Bodega Dreams and Chango's Fire. Quiñonez is an Associate Professor at Cornell University, where he teaches Creative Writing, Latino Fiction and Magical Realism, among others.