I don’t know what I expected from Bodega Dreams, but clearly what I got wasn’t it. It is an uneven novel. It has some strong insights into life in el barrio and its various tensions and contradictions, but at the same time Quiñonez’s writing doesn’t quite seem up to delivering it consistently. The biggest problem is that a lot of the dialogue, upon which so much of the neighborhood character and culture rests, comes off as kind of stilted, and as such does not convey the relationships that carry so much of the action. For example, Quiñonez does not seem able to write Willie Bodega so that the charisma that makes his character’s position and history possible is evident. As such, when the protagonist Chino agrees to help him, I am left wondering why. Since we, as readers, remain unconvinced, it is hard to accept that Chino is convinced. Along the same lines it is hard to see what it is about Chino that makes him valuable to the players from the hood. There is a sense that his longtime friendship with Sapo and the coincidence of marriage into a particular family put him where he ends up, but by the end he seems almost ancillary to what happens—an unnecessary complication. It would have made more sense if he had been suckered to take the fall, but no…The convolutions of the plot don’t help. It turns into the kind of exaggerated bochinche you might hear about in the hood, but know it is bullshit. It didn’t play that way. Real life is simultaneously a lot simpler and a lot more complicated. The fact that all the criminal enterprises and neighborhood development both occur and fail due to the desire for a woman cheapens the whole enterprise and makes the novel appear like a less than compelling crime novel than an actual reflection and analysis of the issues the characters are embroiled in. It does not help that he long-lost lover and betrayals plot reinforces the model of Latino masculinity that I think Quiñonez wants to challenge.And I hate that Chino goes to the cops in the end, that just reinforces the legitimacy of an authority that has as much to do with maintaining el barrio’s status quo as the poverty and crime.This review makes it seem like I liked Bodega Dreams less than I actually did. It started very strong and is the kind of novel that sucks you in to reading more and more. The initial set-up of Chino and Sapo’s relationship is fantastic, as is the characterization of their school—but once the novel leaves that time no other relationships are as well drawn.Maybe I expect too much from a first novel, but from the critical acclaim and attention I was ready to be blown away. I want to read Quiñonez’s next book with the hope that he has grown as a writer since this one. EDIT TO ADD: While I see the similarities to The Great Gatsby that many reviewers mention, to me the heart of Gatsby is Nick's desire for Gatsby and how Daisy becomes the way he can vicariously possess his mysterious neighbor. There is no sense of the depth of relationship between Chino and Bodega and no relationship to speak of between Chino and Vera (and we don't get to meet the Tom Buchanan character until a few minutes before he is shot) to make the analogy really work or to develop it in away that is relevant to the Puerto Rican experience with the corrupt nature of the American Dream.
dear m.s Charan, I Think that you would love this book called "Bodega Dream". Bodega Dreams is base on how an drug lord use to sell drugs in Spanish Harlem.But with the dirty money he was making he was giving back to the people of spanish Harlem.For an example he would pay for peoples college tuitions and also he would buy buildings and rent them to people for an afforable price.In the story Bodega dreams, was to change the ways that people judge the people in Harlem and to remodel the paths that people made. And even though he was selling drugs he thought that people who used it was stupid!.In conclusion from me reading this book i learned that when you are trying to be successful in life they will always be someone that will always try to stop you.And because of this i learned that even people that you love will stab you in the back.In edition i also learned from reading this book, is that people arent always who they say there are,even if yuh accept them as if they are family.But the reason for why this is one of my favorites books is because its has an outstanding ending that surprises every one.For an example at the end bodega was set up by the women that he was in love with, because she was acting like she loved him but she was really in love with hes dirty lawyer, what had lead him to die because all they wanted was hes money and for him to be vanished.
What do You think about Bodega Dreams (2000)?
I had to read this book as a college student along with high school students in NY as a pen pal project. Discussing the book with students that lived in a city helped me better understand the theme of the book, but yet I did not like the fact that high school students were reading this book. There is a lot of foul language and having to be forced to read this book is definitely not a recommendation. I understand the author was trying to convey the true meaning of living in the streets, but I think using this book in high school only influences students to be ok with gangster type of lifestyle. The true reason I probably did not like this book is because I could care less about gangster lifestyle and the horrible foul language. As a Christian, I could not relate to this book.
—Kimberly Sexton
Speaking from a fan's perspective, Bodega dreams' urban cast of first generation Puerto Rican Americans kept me on the edge of seat. I couldn't put this book down it read more like behind the scenes documentary on the underbelly of urban crime and romance than the norm of an unaffected young adult drama. The plight of unrequited love borrows more from Gabriel García Márquez in substance than what I'd expect from a book recommended to me by my sister. As Quinonez commonly refers to sites and sounds commonplace to city life, he does so to truly bring to life his characters and setting. The Spanish Harlem setting enveloped my state of mind. The introduction of characters felt less like plot twists and more like being reintroduced to a familiar face. As I ponder any fault that could possibly be carried by this book I visit areas normally met with disappointment; plot predictability, character development and a general appetite for more. The only thing more impressive than the comfort I felt in mentally placing myself within the realm of Bodega's Dreams was the genuine sense of surprise and utter dismay felt towards the books plot twist- which was, needless to say, unforgettable. Pick up Bodega Dreams and it will never leave you, even far after you've finished reading it.
—Billy Michaca
The key to this novel for me was learning at a reading that Quiñones intended it as a Latino adaptation of The Great Gatsby. It's a great novel on its own, esp. as an introduction to the major historical events and themes of Nuyorican literature (though its historical memory is perhaps a bit short). But it really shines as a smart, nuanced take on Fitzgerald's novel. I love seeing fragments of Gatsby's language rise to the surface of the novel, and the way that the character of Gatsby is divided up among several characters in Quiñones's book. Just a really great read.
—Gabriel Oak
