By John Dorschner
Say Hello to My Little Friend is an astonishing book, perhaps the best I’ve ever read about Miami.
It’s by Hialeah’s own Jennine Capó Crucet. The central character, Izzy, has an Elian past – mom died during the raft trip – but with complex twists. Izzy bonds with a fellow Hialeah-Miami Lakes graduate because both know the dates when you avoid the Youth Fair. Izzy’s gal envisions being proposed to on a Youth Fair ride – or maybe at Santa’s Enchanted Forest. And what could be more perfect than a wedding at what is now called Jungle Island, where the package includes photos with parrots?
Lolita “the killer whale,” is a central character in this surreal world, in which Izzy’s first dream is to be a Pitbull imitator and when that fails, he seeks to become Tony Montana, the lead character in Scarface. Magical realism here we come.
This work by the author of How To Leave Hialeah is funny and sad – and, yes, Capó Crucet messes with us at times. Two-thirds of the way through the novel, the narrator is interrupted by a critic/editor who demands more cigars, more Cuban baseball (“Fidel played baseball!"), more Joan Didion insights. The narrator fires that back Didion was in Miami for a few weeks, maybe months, before writing her acclaimed book about the city. But with a grudging nod to showing a broader Miami, Capó Crucet leaves La Saguesera and Hialeah briefly to show pretentious McMansions in Key Biscayne. But hey, that’s Miami too.
One of the funniest scenes is when Izzy decides to impress a date by taking her to a tapas place – which is inside a gas station. Just their attempts to select a wine make for a great comic bit. Indeed, I have been to a place just like that – and the tapas were pretty damn good.
There are many kinds of “real Miami” of course – but this book shows a certain lifestyle that is rarely examined. It’s a real eye-opener.
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