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A review by hanxiety_in_pink
Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet
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.