Latin Moon in Manhattan — Jaime Manrique

Exuberant and colorful, Latin Moon in Manhattan paints a vivid portrait of New York City as the land of El Dorado for today's Latino immigrants. From Little Columbia in Queens to the street life of Times Square, this brilliant novel is crowded with an extraordinary cast of characters: Hot Sauce, a midget hooker; Simon Bolivar, a parrot who croons Julio Iglesias songs; the Urrutias, a family rich from cocaine smuggling; Santiago Martinez, a loner and would-be poet whose ancient cat, Mr. O'Donnell, is slowly dying of an enlarged heart.

Exploding with a profusion of plots and sub-plots involving drug smuggling, romance, and the literacy politics of Queens, Latin Moon in Manhattan is a rich and charming work.