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A review by savaging
How to Leave Hialeah by Jennine Capó Crucet
4.0
Capo Crucet's writing is rooted deep in a specific ecology and community. These are character-driven stories, not plot-driven, but all the same the body count is high. Almost all of the pieces in here are about death. Those that aren't are about bodies that decay or fail.
I tried typing down my favorite stories, but found that the list was getting too long and all-inclusive. If you want to read about a radio intern enlisting nuns and santeras in the quest to resurrect Celia Cruz, or what happens to a dead man's ferret, or Miami-Cuban funerals and Christmas Eves and multiple sclerosis and tai chi -- and you don't mind an unconventional narrative arc that often leaves you without a concluding dun-dum-DUUUUM -- then find this book. At the very least, read the title essay, "How to Leave Hialeah," which is remarkable.
I disliked the few stories about young, heterosexual couples -- but I'm not certain they were written to be liked.
I tried typing down my favorite stories, but found that the list was getting too long and all-inclusive. If you want to read about a radio intern enlisting nuns and santeras in the quest to resurrect Celia Cruz, or what happens to a dead man's ferret, or Miami-Cuban funerals and Christmas Eves and multiple sclerosis and tai chi -- and you don't mind an unconventional narrative arc that often leaves you without a concluding dun-dum-DUUUUM -- then find this book. At the very least, read the title essay, "How to Leave Hialeah," which is remarkable.
I disliked the few stories about young, heterosexual couples -- but I'm not certain they were written to be liked.