It started out strong but failed to keep that momentum. Somehow I lost interest as soon as we entered Tariq's perspective. ( )

It started out strong but failed to keep that momentum. Somehow I lost interest as soon as we entered Tariq's perspective. ( )

This first-time author proves to be a powerful talent. This is the kind of book that makes you marvel on every page at the writer's talent. The story focuses on a low-level drug dealer, Alfredo, who lives in a small apartment in Queens with his crippled father, mother and pregnant girlfriend. The complication is that his girlfriend use to be his brother's lover. He started the relationship when his brother went to prison, and now the brother is about to be released. A great comic tale and magnificent portrait of the characters who inhabit this world. The climactic scene -- the dogfight -- is a high-wire act of taut writing, with all the plot lines of the novel coming together in one tension-filled critical moment. ( )

In a theme reminiscent of Hubert Selby, Matt Burgess’ debut novel delves into the unseemly underbelly of New York, specifically Jackson Heights, Queens. The story centers on Alfredo, a low-level drug dealer that is not particularly good at his job. He and his pregnant girlfriend, Isabel, live with his parents in a small apartment.

From the get-go, there is an ominous feeling to the novel as the reader waits for the return of Alfredo’s brother, Tariq, who will soon be released from prison. The way the characters speak about Tariq or avoid the subject presents the reader with a foreboding and apprehension, an anxiousness of the possibility of retribution and violence. We soon learn that not only did Alfredo bail on a robbery at the last minute, thereby avoiding prison while his brother did not, but he also fell in love with his brother’s girlfriend while Tariq was in prison.

To combat ill will, Alfredo presents Tariq with stolen drugs and a dog fight upon his release. Hoping to stay in Tariq’s good graces, Alfredo is hoping that the money these ventures may illicit will soften the blow of Isabel’s pregnancy and devotion to Alfredo. When Tariq does arrive home, the family is on pins and needles. With his new faith in Islam, Tariq attempts to remain calm and peaceful. However, all hell breaks loose quickly. By the time all is said and done, Alfredo and Tariq have turned against each other. Tariq’s violence injures Isabel, and Alfredo’s duplicity kills Tariq.

While not excellent, Burgess feels like a natural storyteller. It felt like a first novel, and it would have benefitted from more carefully constructed character development. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.

Poverty and love join together to form desperation in Alfredo's life. He wants only the best for his beloved Isabel and their unborn child. He wants to have a grand event to celebrate his big brother's release from prison. Unfortunately, on the raw streets of his neighborhood in Queens, Alfredo's wants are not easily satisfied. It seems that everything he tries makes his life worse, but still, he doesn't relent. Matt Burgess has written Alfredo's story at a breakneck pace, populating his life with a crazy cast of characters from across generations, races and ethnicities. In spite of Alfredo's dreary state much of his story is laugh out loud funny. ( )