Customer Reviews

How to Leave Hialeah (Iowa Short Fiction Award)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can't recommend this collection strongly enough. These stories have a rare and captivating energy -- the author's voice is so vivid and entertaining that I found it impossible to stop reading. Vibrant, at times disturbing, and often hilarious, these stories beautifully capture the complexity of these characters lives, as well as the larger community of Hialeah.

Up until now, of all the fiction I have read by Cuban American writers about Cuban Americans, my favorite was Tomorrow They Will Kiss by Eduardo Santiago--and I give it five stars as do my students who read it in my writing classes at Miami Dade College. But ow to Leave Hialeah may be even a little better. The book consists of several stories, many told in first person. One of my favorites is about a funeral. Hilarious! But maybe the favorite is told by the narrator of "The Next Move." Let me give you just one paragraph. He is talking with his married daughter after having dropped his wife, Nilda, off at MIA to fly back to Cuba to visit her sisters: "I was on the kitchen phone since it had the long cord, and I'd taken off my socks to clip my toenails while we talked. It needed to be done. I've always liked clipping off the nail in one whole piece, so that I can make a pile of these thick yellow half-moons on the table, which made it easier for Nilda to clean up. she always complained about it, but she never realized I was trying to make it easier for her."
And know this too: he is dedicated to his new Tai Chi class!
This is just too wonderful a read. And I will be using a couple of stories in my next semester classes.

This is a stunning collection of earthy, uproarious stories that force you to smile even as they break your heart. Ms. Crucet doesn't hold back at all in her intimate depictions of the lives of Cuban immigrants in Miami.

I first encountered one of the stories in this book in an online literary journal and was captivated by the writer's honesty. If you're not sure whether or not to buy this book, go and look up Low Tide first. It will give you an appetite for more. There's a link to it on my blog.

funny, poignant, observant, and deeply compassionate without coyness or sentimentality, this book is a fantastic read and a window into the cuban-american community of south florida. i didn't want it to end. there better be some sort of sequel.... or a movie version... or something!

This was a very enjoyable book. It was several different stories that helped you to learn about Hialeah and the Cuban culture. How to Leave Hialeah (Iowa Short Fiction Award)