The Last Flight of Jose Luis Balboa — Gonzalo Barr

“Captivating” short stories set in vibrant, multicultural Miami (Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents).
 
This collection of short fiction, a winner of the Bakeless Prize, captures the international hub city of Miami, Florida, in all its roiling guises -- from the opulence of South Beach to the ferocity of Little Havana.
 
Introducing us to a wide range of unforgettable characters -- an unscrupulous newscaster, a Lincoln Road bar manager, a beautiful but cruel teenage heartbreaker, and the title character, a suicidal Latin pop star -- in situations that teem with humor and brutality, absurdity and poignancy, this remarkable debut offers a vivid portrait of a city defined by a blur of cultures.
 
“Engaging, funny, highly enjoyable . . . These stories draw you in.” -- Francine Prose, author of Reading Like a Writer