The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin Random House 1994. Written by one of the best of America's new generation of short story writers, The Palace Thief and other stories in this collection flow in narrative detail-yet are all touched with a sense of unresolved malaise.

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia. Alfred A. Knopf New York 1992. A brilliant first novel capturing the history of a Cuban family from decades before the revolution until 1980. The central figure is a grandmother of the family, portrayed in a complex relationship with other family members. The author displays a gift for articulate character portraits and a masterful hand with plot development. One of the best novels of the decade. Nominated for the National Book Award.

The Aguero Sisters by Cristina Garcia. Alfred A. Knopf New York 1997. The second novel by the Cuban-American author, is more focused than Dreaming in Cuban. This book is a history of two sisters, one living in Cuba and the other in Miami. The story is intertwined with the narratives of their father, who studied and recorded animal wildlife in pre-revolutionary Cuba. At first, I thought that the novel was less passionate than Dreaming in Cuba , with its constant outbursts of plot turns. Later in the book I began to realize that the relationship of all the characters in the book was becoming very clear to me, and the novel concludes leaving the reader with firm sense of character resolution, unlike in many other fiction novels. Ms. Garcia's style is lyrical and intensely descriptive, confirming to me that she is a leading contemporary fiction writer. I suggest reading Dreaming in Cuban first.

Starting Out in the Evening by Brian Morton. Crown Publishers New York: 1998. Heather, a doctoral candidate at Brown University, is writing her thesis on Leonard Schiller, a forgotten writer of the 1960's. Schiller is her hero, and his novels inspired her personal liberation during high school. Heather arranges to meet Schiller, now in his 80's, at his favorite restaurant in New York. He politely refuses offering her interviews for her thesis. He eventually relents, and Heather begins unraveling the life of the author- his successful novels were followed by an unsuccessful tepid output. Why did a young promising author lose his vitality and write mediocre novels which compared unfavorably to his earlier books? This is a rich character study, and an inviting read which will poses questions about the evolution of artistic identity. The book is an excellent film, which received nominations for film awards. The author teaches at Sarah Lawrence College Bennington College Writing Seminars, and New York University.

A Simple Habana Melody (from when the world was good) by Oscar Hijuelos, the Pulitzer Prize author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Harper Collins 2002. The main character of this novel is a famous Cuban musician, Israel Levis, a pianist and internationally renowned composer. He is a devout Catholic, torn between his devotion to his mother and his secret love for Rita Valladares, a mulatta singer who premiered his signature song, "Rosas Puras" or "Pretty Roses". Although Rita loves him in turn, the two never openly express their feelings towards each other. "Pretty Rosas" is a leitmotif, a unifying recurring theme throughout the book, which signifies their lost love. At the beginning of the novel, Israel has returned to Cuba, now sickly and emaciated, having been a prisoner in Buchenwald, a Nazi concentration camp. The novel depicts his life before his internment and marks his imprisonment as a line of demarcation- separating two lifestyles: one of pre-war religious devotion and high living; and post-war- a life viewed with nihilistic apathy. This is my favorite of the author's novels. I recommend reading Mambo Kings first in order to follow this gifted author's development.

Empress of the Splendid Season by Oscar Hijuelos. HarperFlamingo(HarperCollins) New York,1999. Another captivating account of Cuban-American life a from the author of The Mambo KIngs Play Songs of Love. The central character in this novel is an once flamboyant and beautiful Cuban immigrant living in New York and working as a cleaning woman. Nevertheless, Lydia, the central character, perceives herself in light of her upbringing as the daughter of a wealthy landowner in pre-communist Cuba. Her values and self perceptions are imparted to her family, creating an atmosphere beholden to tradition yet intensified with conflict. Mr. Hijuelos masterfully relates another evocative tale of Cuban-American life for us in his newest novel.

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijeulos. Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1989. The author was awarded a Pulitzer for this steamy rendering of the life of a Cuban Mambo star. Hijeulos, a Cuban-American, who was raised in New York City, reveals the intimate, exotic, and somewhat tragic life of this fictional musician through the eyes of his nephew, the narrator of the story. We are led into the lives of Cubans who emigrated before Castro, and into the heated Mambo music scene of the1950's. An exhilirating, unforgettable literary experience.

Mr.Ives Christmas by Oscar Hijeulos. HarperCollins Publishers, 1995. Not as passionate as The Mambo Kings, Mr.Ives Christmas is a more sobering story about a devout Catholic New Yorker who tries to come to terms with the early death of his murdered son, who was preparing for the priesthood. The novel reflects on Ive's Catholicism as a dominant force in his pysche both before and after the death of his son.

Native Speaker by Chang rae Lee. Riverhead Books 1995. The winner of the Pen Hemingway award (prize for a first novel) examines the lives of a Korean- American and his upper class Protestant American wife. Written in an intense, flowing style, the author illustrates the choices that the main character, a professional corporate saboteur, must make as he continues to live behind a veil of secrecy.

The Sacrifice of Issac by Neil Gordon. Random House 1995. This is a mystery novel, but it is too sophisticated to be classified in this genre. An intense story about two Israeli-born brothers,the youngest being the central character in the plot and the eldest appearing mostly as a reference. Their famous military father dies and bequeaths his fortune to the sons. The story is based on the search of the youngest brother for the eldest who he suspects may want to murder him to gain the entire inheritance. The novel takes place mostly in Europe and has a continental tone. A highly charged and compelling novel.

St. Burl's Obituary by Daniel Akst. MacMurray & BeckAspen, Colo, 1996. A very obese man who centers much of life around food is a witness to a mob shooting in his family restaurant. The main character flees his home and profession (he is an obituary writer) and experiences a complete metamorphosis. A bit long-winded at times, but certainly a fascinating read about a complete character overhaul.

Terminal Velocity by Blanche McCrary Boyd. Alfred Knopf New York, 1997. The central character, Ellen, leaves her life as an editor and wife and joins a radical womens commune in Northern California during the 1960's. Her inner turmoil eventually leads her on a dangerous emotional rollercoaster resulting in drug abuse and mental illness. Issues of sexuality and feminism uncommonly depicted in mainstream literature are brought to light in this intense novel tinged with social humor.

Life Without Water by Nancy Peacock Longstreet Press Atlanta, Georgia 1996. A young girl narrates the story of her childhood living with her mother and sister in a hippie commune in North Carolina. It is an interesting setting for the 1960's, because most of the counter culture activity was centered on both the East and West Coast, and not in the conservative South.The authors first novel, ends poignantly.