Too slack for satire.
An attempt at parody in the form of a memoir, from Puerto Rico native Yunqué (Blood Fugues, 2005, etc.).
Rebecca Horowitz has a mother she describes as a “genetic fruit salad,” a Jewish father and no sense of cultural identity. She begins to discover the first stirrings of a self—a rather depraved self—as she falls for Latin lothario Charlie Maisonet, and, when her lover’s mother suggests that she become Puerto Rican, Rebecca is open to the idea. Soon, this Park Slope social worker is a stripper named Zoraida Delgado. The narrator of this faux memoir states that she doesn’t want the story of her transformation to be confused with chick lit. There’s little chance of that happening. Although her tale does conclude with an ostensibly happy union, few heroines of romantic comedy have happy endings with boyfriends who ask them to perform carnal acts with a dog. As it plumbs the depths of degradation before it soars to a self-actualizing close, the narrative resembles the type of autobiography deplored by Rebecca/Zoraida’s mentor—the novelist Edgardo Vega Yunqué. In this type of autobiography, an underprivileged protagonist overcomes the grim adversity presented by his race and economic status, but only after offering a lurid portrait of said adversity. This, then, is satire, and the author really doesn’t want anyone to miss it. Yunqué allows his protégé to paraphrase him liberally as he lambasts the literary establishment and decries the ghettoizing of “ethnic” art, and he has some valid points to make about the cult of the memoir and the dynamic of excluding non-normative voices by celebrating their otherness. But satire requires tension and speed, which this novel lacks. The narrative moves at a glacial pace, and the increasingly bored reader has ample time to reflect not only on the absurdity of the phenomena that Yunqué parodies, but also on the absurdity of what he has written.
Too slack for satire.Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59020-064-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2008
The queen of Texas melodrama takes metaphor perhaps a step too far as she pits her heart-transplant-patient heroine against a serial killer obsessed with stopping her new heart. Having as a child survived Hodgkin's disease, her parents' double suicide, and life in a series of substandard foster homes, feisty redhead Cat Delaney is more than able to wisecrack her way through a heart transplant operation at the peak of her career. Famous as a star of the television soap opera Passages, Cat experiences both a literal and figurative change of heart after her surgery, abruptly opting to drop her acting career, move to San Antonio, and create a local news segment aimed at matching abandoned children with good adoptive homes. She breaks off an affair with Dr. Dean Spicer, her wealthy cardiologist, and falls madly in love with Alex Pierce (``His tongue was nimble, his appetite carnal''), a Houston cop turned mystery writer whose sudden appearance in her life may not be coincidental. When newspaper articles describing murders of other heart transplantees begin appearing in Cat's mailbox, she realizes she's being stalked by a lunatic obsessed with stilling the heart of a loved one who may or may not be her donor. As the anniversary of Cat's transplant nears, the threat of violence grows greater. But from which direction comes the danger?: From her hostile secretary, possibly related to a woman who was murdered on the day of her transplant? From the stepfather of one of Cat's orphan clients, whose greatest rival may have been Cat's donor? Or (horrors) from sexy Alex, whose past holds more secrets than she could ever guess? Highly schematic and hastily sketched, this nevertheless provides a satisfying dose of Brown's (Where There's Smoke, 1993, etc.) famously raunchy sex scenes (`` `I want to know I'm with a man. I want to be taken. I want—' `You want to be fucked.' ''), and a certain raw enthusiasm that will no doubt increase her legion of fans. (First printing of 300,000; Literary Guild main selection)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-446-51656-2
Page Count: 432
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
An overstuffed tale that can’t decide if it’s a mystery or a romance.
Moriarty’s second novel follows the Doughty clan as they fight to protect family secrets.
The Doughtys became famous more than 70 years ago when Connie and Rose Doughty found a baby on their island home, Scribbly Gum. The baby’s parents, Alice and Jack Munro, vanished, leaving few clues to their whereabouts. The circumstances around the abandonment created a national media sensation. Dubbed “The Baby Munro Mystery,” the case captivated Australians and turned sleepy Scribbly Gum Island into a tourist destination. Connie and Rose jumped at this chance to make money. They offered tours and concessions based on the Munro’s disappearance. Their schemes created a financial windfall for the Doughty family. As the business grew, Connie and Rose managed to keep the younger generations of Doughtys on a tight leash by controlling the purse strings. After setting up this bleak bit of history, Moriarty focuses on the island’s current residents. The Doughty grandchildren and great-grandchildren seem to have prospered in their pristine surroundings, but in reality they are a tortured bunch. The family’s troubles surface when the matriarch, Connie, dies. Infighting breaks out among the relatives, and the careful fabric that bound the family together for years starts to unravel. The comparatively sane and notably saucy Sophie Honeywell is thrown into this den of nutcases—Sophie had only met the dowager a handful of times, when she was dating one of the Scribbly Gum natives, but apparently Sophie made such an impression that Connie bequeathed to her her home. Eager to toss aside Sydney’s stale singles scene for the opportunity to live rent-free on the picturesque island, Sophie joins the fray. Moriarty (Three Wishes, 2004) presents far too many characters (five generations are accounted for), and none of them are likable. The old ladies are cantankerous and the younger folk are addle-brained. Sub-plots involve postpartum depression, gay relationships, mid-life crises and weight-control issues.
An overstuffed tale that can’t decide if it’s a mystery or a romance.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-089068-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
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