Caramba!: A Tale Told in Turns of the Card [Hardcover]

Nina Marie Martinez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0375413758 | ISBN-13: 978-0375413759 | Edition: 1st

Welcome to Lava Landing, population 27,454, a town just this side of Mexico, where Miss Magma reigns and rockabilly and mariachi music are king. Enter our protagonists, Natalie and Consuelo, self-described “like-minded individuals.” They spend their days at The Big Cheese Plant and their nights at The Big Five-Four, the hottest spot in town. But they have long-term projects, foremost among them to cure Consuelo of her unreasonable fear of public transportation and long car rides so they can finally take Natalie’s 1963 Cadillac convertible on the road trip it deserves . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lava Landing, Calif., home of a dormant volcano and the annual Miss Magma beauty pageant, is the setting for this effervescent, luminous debut. Although the novel has a slew of protagonists, readers first meet Natalie and Consuelo (Nat and Sway), two firecrackers with an "ever growing fascination with the wideness of the world." Sway's father is recently deceased and stuck in purgatory ("The Perg"); the only way to get him out is to go to his hometown in Mexico, gather the townspeople, visit the railroad tracks where he was killed and pray for him. As Sway has a phobia of long car rides and public transportation, Nat must go. Meanwhile, Martínez, in a bubbly mix of English and Spanglish, spins a plethora of side plots, among them the struggle of a born-again Christian mariachi who falls for an ex-convict; the search for true love by Lulabell, who's fashioned an anthropological map of Mexico detailing which regions are known for which kinds of men; and the triumph of True-Dee, a frustrated drag queen/beautician. Martínez draws on magical realism, kitschy humor and tongue-in-cheek clichés (e.g., "True-Dee was oh so nervous as she walked into the Bowling Alley Café"), but there's truth behind the zany humor. Martínez's soap opera-silly story belies serious truth telling about love and happiness in life and death. And as if the fabulously ludicrous plot weren't enough, Martínez illustrates her work with "artifacts," including Mexican Lotería cards, letters written by True-Dee to an advice columnist and the classified ad Lulabell runs in the local paper, selling her soul to the highest bidder.
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Martinez strikes a fresh, feisty pop-culture pose here, resembling a cross between Gabriel García Márquez, John Irving, Tom Robbins, and Monty Python. Critics admire her exuberance, but comment that it often veers into slap-dash slapstick. Splashy references to Cal-Mex music, dance, and cuisine, combined with vivid illustrations, richen the skimpy characterization and somewhat plodding plot (akin to Thelma and Louise without the push-up bra). Some readers found the Spanglish clear in context, but others demanded a dictionary. Nevertheless, critics expect big things from this debut author, an alumna of UC Santa Cruz’s Creative Writing program. As they point out: the best of her work is yet to come.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (April 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375413758
• ISBN-13: 978-0375413759
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AS ZESTY AS SALSA, AS MELLOW AS A MARGARITA, April 20, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Caramba!: A Tale Told in Turns of the Card (Hardcover)

"Caramba!" bursts upon the literary scene as zesty as salsa, as mellow as a margarita, and as much fun as a Mexican hat dance.

Before turning to page 1, there are a few things this author would have you know:
"I believe that English and Spanish are live languages, hence they're always changin'."
"People say that my book is very funny, but I am dead serious."
"The characters come to me first as quirks, then as dilemmas: A Born Again Christian Mariachi, an ugly beauty queen, a girl who's afraid of public transportation and long car rides....."
"Many books begin with a disclaimer that says that the events therein described are fiction. If my book gets one of those, then it will speak the truth. I made everything up, except for the Javier Solis death-by-taco story."

There, now that you're prepared, turn to page 1 of "Caramba!"and meet Natalie and Consuelo, known as Nat and Sway. As Sandra Cisneros is wont to say, these two are "Thelma and Louise on the border."

Home to this twenty-something pair is Lava Landing, California. Now, while Nat and Sway are aching to break free and see the world, there's also something waiting to burst forth in Lava Landing - a dormant volcano.

Lava Landing is close to the Mexican border and home to the Miss Magma beauty contest. Swaying hips and mariachi music are hallmarks of this community, as are some of the most outrageous characters ever imagined - Javier, a born-again mariachi who falls for a drug dealer; Lulabell, an honest-to-goodness witch; and True-Dee, a drag queen hair dresser.

Until Nat and Sway can determine how they can hit the road to adventure in Nat's 1963 Cadillac convertible the girls work days at the Big Cheese Factory, and spend their nights at The Big Five-Four. Here, seated in their favorite booth they sip tequila floats, dance, and check the action.

And there's activity aplenty in this brightly presented book spiced with illustrations captioned in both English and Spanish. As we follow the lives of Shay, Nat, and their friends we're reminded of how very much alike we all are - it's just that these two have a heck of a lot more fun than most of us.

As defined by the author "Caramba" is what you say when you don't know what to say. I know what to say about this book: it's an antic read, terrific, surprising fun. It's as intoxicating as a Tequila Sunrise. Don't miss it.

- Gail Cooke

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hola amigos!, June 8, 2004

By 

G. J WALSH "Idling reader" (Redondo Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Caramba!: A Tale Told in Turns of the Card (Hardcover)

Don't miss the point that this book bridges English and Espanol. <And don't forget that tilda over the 'n.' Martinez knows her Mexican-Americans intimately. If you're a novice in the southwest you'll definitely come away wearing more silver jewelry and belt buckles. The style is all-consuming and plunges you deep in the Cali-Mex culture.

So that's what my hermanos to the south (and north, and everywhere) are doing. And thinking about, and playing, and writing, and, um, what they're trying to get out of purgatory--which, by the way, is all done in white. Heaven has deep, rich colors. With all your favorite things, like in a Mexican Western.

This chica has a clever, refined sense of humor--in two languages. Check it out. Improve your Spanish. Learn about lonchera crime; two-faced, paroled mujeres; and born-again mariachi frustrations. Try not to steal any dress designs--cut on the bias. Me gusto mucho. Deserves a place on the bookshelf of gringos with even the smallest Spanish vocabulario.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun times, January 6, 2007

By 

Tamara Randi "Still radical after all these y... (Western USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Caramba!: A Tale Told in Turns of the Card (Hardcover)

Easy read. Has won awards. I thought it was a great chick book. The book cover is great, as are the other colorful touches that enhance the book pages. Magical realism meets Tom Robbins. It reminded me of "Even Cowgirls get the Blues", but not so radical and with artistic treats.