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annamikulec's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookwhimsy2's review against another edition
5.0
This story surprised me! You think you will get something, and in the end you end up with a really interesting, experimental feeling story. The story starts with Izzy, who has been making a sort of living as a Pitbull impersonator until he receives a cease and desist order. He now has to figure out a new way to make an easy living. So, he decides that he will follow the blueprint of Tony Montana from Scarface. So you think you know where this story is going to go, except it is also the story of Lolita, an orca held in captivity in an aquarium. She remembers her family but was ripped from them at a young age and is able to make a connection with Izzy.
I am not sure how much more I should say. This is a story about Miami, about being Cuban-American. It is both a love letter to and a critique of those elements. That duality is written beautifully by Jennine Capó Crucet.
I don't know if every element of this story worked for me but I do know that this is a story that kept me guessing and has stayed with me and that is enough that I think people should pick it up.
Content Warnings: Violence, death, death of an animal, death of a parent, discussion of drug use
I am not sure how much more I should say. This is a story about Miami, about being Cuban-American. It is both a love letter to and a critique of those elements. That duality is written beautifully by Jennine Capó Crucet.
I don't know if every element of this story worked for me but I do know that this is a story that kept me guessing and has stayed with me and that is enough that I think people should pick it up.
Content Warnings: Violence, death, death of an animal, death of a parent, discussion of drug use
hanxiety_in_pink's review against another edition
3.5
Where to begin with this book? It was sheer madness at times, quietly poignant at others and there were more than a few chuckles throughout as well.
As the title suggests, this book is heavy on the Scarface references, I have not seen the movie, and I do think this went against me at first. The protagonist is Izzy, a young Cuban immigrant, orphaned when his mother died during their dangerous entry into the US. Searching for his place within the humid streets of Miami, he gets the (utterly bonkers) idea that he is going to model his life after Tony Montana, shady business contacts, Michelle Pfieffer-esque girlfriend and all. Apparently in the film Tony gets himself a pet tiger, and this is where the second voice in the novel comes in... Lolita, the (sadly) famous orca who had lived in the Miami Seaquarium for more than half a century before her death last year.
Throughout the book we hear from Lolita herself, she tells of her tankmate Hugo who committed suicide by repeatedly swimming headfirst into the tank walls, she shares memories of her family in the wild, remembering the day that she was captured and brought to the tiny tank and trained to perform in exchange for food. After he sees her performing Izzy becomes convinced that she must be his own exotic pet and Lolita also feels a special connection to Izzy. I found myself one hundred percent suspending my belief and was engrossed in Lolita's story, I almost didn't want to leave her to find out what madcap idea Izzy was chasing and could have just read about her for days!
Izzy's plan to become the new Tony Montana serves as a structure throughout the novel but there isn't a huge amount of plot, as such I did struggle to make a real connection with Izzy, he's not a particularly likeable character and doesn't give much emotionally. I did also struggle with some of the niche Miami references and I'm sure some of the jokes went over my head due to my own lack of knowledge. It's hard to say I enjoyed the story as for the most part I felt a bit detached from it but I did enjoy the writing style. It's quick paced, funny and the ending was nothing short of sublime.
As the title suggests, this book is heavy on the Scarface references, I have not seen the movie, and I do think this went against me at first. The protagonist is Izzy, a young Cuban immigrant, orphaned when his mother died during their dangerous entry into the US. Searching for his place within the humid streets of Miami, he gets the (utterly bonkers) idea that he is going to model his life after Tony Montana, shady business contacts, Michelle Pfieffer-esque girlfriend and all. Apparently in the film Tony gets himself a pet tiger, and this is where the second voice in the novel comes in... Lolita, the (sadly) famous orca who had lived in the Miami Seaquarium for more than half a century before her death last year.
Throughout the book we hear from Lolita herself, she tells of her tankmate Hugo who committed suicide by repeatedly swimming headfirst into the tank walls, she shares memories of her family in the wild, remembering the day that she was captured and brought to the tiny tank and trained to perform in exchange for food. After he sees her performing Izzy becomes convinced that she must be his own exotic pet and Lolita also feels a special connection to Izzy. I found myself one hundred percent suspending my belief and was engrossed in Lolita's story, I almost didn't want to leave her to find out what madcap idea Izzy was chasing and could have just read about her for days!
Izzy's plan to become the new Tony Montana serves as a structure throughout the novel but there isn't a huge amount of plot, as such I did struggle to make a real connection with Izzy, he's not a particularly likeable character and doesn't give much emotionally. I did also struggle with some of the niche Miami references and I'm sure some of the jokes went over my head due to my own lack of knowledge. It's hard to say I enjoyed the story as for the most part I felt a bit detached from it but I did enjoy the writing style. It's quick paced, funny and the ending was nothing short of sublime.
adahfitzgerald's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lizzillia's review against another edition
4.5
Published 5th March 2024. The opening chapter of this novel really got to me and left me wondering what I was going to be experiencing as I was reading. The opening chapter is the voice of Lolita, an orca who has spent many, many years in the Seaquarium in Miami and it is the story of how she got there. And throughout the novel we keep hearing her voice - which I loved. Anyway, the story itself revolves around Izzy, who was brought up by his Tia after coming to Miami from Cuba on a raft aged seven. He wanted to be a Pitbull impersonator but after getting legal warnings, he decided to model himself on the Al Pacino character, Tony Montana, from the movie Scarface - a film I've never scene but that didn't affect my reading of the novel. In the film, apparently Tony has a tiger but after a visit to the Seaquarium, Izzy seems to form a connection to Lolita, who invades his thought, and goes in a direction that I never expected. Izzy also wants to find out more about his passage to Miami as he thinks this could be a lucrative market to get into and starts asking questions about his journey and his mother to the wrong people. In fact what with Lolita's voice telling her stories, and Izzy's search for the truth about his journey on the raft, you do get taken to some pretty dark places and as for the ending - well. I enjoyed the descriptions of Miami and particularly, I loved Lolita. As for Izzy, I followed him on his quest to become Tony Montana and his almost coming-of-age as he realised through his questions that maybe the story that he had been told about his journey was not in fact the true one, and as he realised that maybe what he thought was important actually wasn't. I followed him and ended up in a place that I just didn't think I would ever end up in. A book that led me into some very surprising places.
laurelr's review against another edition
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
sarahh14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0