Bodega Dreams

by Ernesto Quiñonez

The word is out in Spanish Harlem: Willy Bodega is king.  Need college tuition for your daughter?  Start-up funds for your fruit stand?  Bodega can help.  He gives everyone a leg up, in exchange only for loyalty--and a steady income from the drugs he pushes.

Lyric, inspired, and darkly funny, this powerful debut novel brilliantly evokes the trial of Chino, a smart, promising young man to whom Bodega turns for a favor.  Chino is drawn to Bodega's street-smart idealism, but soon finds himself over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Latinx, New York, Literary Fiction, School, Latino

213 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Ernesto Quiñonez (born 1966) is an American novelist. His work received the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers designation, the Borders Bookstore Original New Voice selection, and was declared a “Best Book” by the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Reviews

[chantel nouseforaname · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. It was such a good story. Young Chino is trying to make it with his wife Blanca, but yoooo there is soooo much drama that he gets caught up in with his homeboy Sapo.

Sapo is a full-on weirdo with a penchant for biting folks in fights, but him and Chino have been bros since they were youtes.

Sapo introduces Chino to Willie Bodega and tho Chino wants to just live a righteous life, he’s not to sure if Sapo and Bodega are gonna let him do it!

Throw in a couple other crazy characters, a story of lost love, and a man with a plan to get that old thang back and you’ve got the stove on high.

What ensues in Bodega Dreams kept me up at night laughing and thinking and reflecting on: Hispanic ambitions, the Young Lords, young love, colourism, inter-community racism and the white-washing of one’s origins, the pursuit of education, Iris Chacon, religion, immigration, hypocrisy, men needing to be men, wives needing to keep that ish in check..

Honestly, this is definitely a contender for one of the best books that I’ve read this year, hands down, no qualms about it!

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a thrill it was to finish reading this beautiful riff and modern retelling of The Great Gatsby and the American Dream!

Julio, aka Chino Mercado, serves as the narrator of this tale, set in Spanish Harlem. He lives with his pregnant wife Blanca who does not want him to be friendly with a former classmate, Sapo, a drug dealer.

Soon Chino’s friendship with Sapo leads him to meeting the neighborhood kingpin, the enigmatic William Irizarry, aka Willie Bodega and his shadowy lawyer Nazario, and henchman Nene, and thus, Bodega asks Chino for a favor that will set the novel into overdrive of heartache, gentrification and murder.

With an unforgettable cast of characters such as Chino, Bodega, Blanca, Sapo, Nazario, and Blanca’s flamboyant and seductive Aunt Vera that functions as the heartbeat of the novel, it’s beauty and violence reminds us of a pulsing neighborhood in New York that is often forgotten and overlooked- but when seen carefully, is a place of excitement and brimming with love and community.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I liked this. A kind of modern day adaptation of The Great Gatsby set in Harlem. Our main character is a young Hispanic man, trying to keep his head down, get an education and keep his wife happy. His childhood connection with local drug dealer Sapo though means he gets embroiled with local crime lord Willie Bodega, who is trying to do some good in the neighbourhood, as well as some bad.

I just found our main characters immensely likeable, and sympathised with some of the situations he found himself in. The other major character Willie Bodgea was just the right mix of dark and vulnerable. The ending felt wrapped up too quickly, but I very much enjoyed the journey.

[LisaRose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am trying so hard to figure out Bodega Dreams. Oscar Quinonez created a work with multiple layers and textures but I am unsure if it is all smoke and mirrors. Ranging from, "Yeah, I know guys like that," to characters who are caricatures, Quinonez populates his first novel with peeps from the hood with dubious motivations and labyrinthine connections. These characters develop unevenly through the course of the novel and as the convoluted plot line unravels, they make choices that seem out of character.

Chino, the protagonist, retrospectively and unsatisfactorily explains his actions. He constantly balances "street" and "righteousness." His is a never-ending battle which he always seems to lose. He is one of those guys I know.

His pana, Sapo, is one of the caricatures. Always looking for the quick score with drugs and women, Sapo cruises the neighborhood as a low-level thug. He is a come-hither stereotype, without the come-hither appeal.

In a dose of heavy-handed allegory, Quinones gives us sisters, Blanca and Negra (Nancy and Deborah), the former Chino's "Alleluia" wife and foil for his conscience. Of course, Negra, as his sister-in-law, facilitates some of his evil-doings. We all know siblings who are opposites; church-goer v rebel, studious v partier, etc, but Quinones made these two sisters extremes.

With the setting of Spanish Harlem, Bodega Dreams uses the city to the utmost. The bodega is a classic corner store found in many Latin neighborhoods in New York City, and with Willie Bodega as the antagonist, we have yet another larger-than-life type. One who has a dream. A huge dream. An unbelievable dream. A dream he is slowly realizing. But he is also in love...

Despite the characterization flaws, Quinonez shares an interesting political perspective. I find myself thinking about this novel well after I completed it. The ending came too abruptly and I was perplexed by his characters' actions (no, I do not believe they would behave that way) but more importantly, I think Quinonez has salient ideas to share.

[Joey Mazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fucking loved it. Yes, it’s got the Gatsby stuff which is great, but what really got me was the feeling of home and knowing the characters or real life versions of them.

A great read. I’m on a real NYC kick right now and this was perfect.

[Roxanne (The Novel Sanctuary) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story -- and great to use in the NYC classroom, as students many students will be able to relate to the cultural issues of East Harlem. Allusions to THE GREAT GATSBY made me a bit weary at first, but this novel questions what we assume about crime and justice continually, hitting on some of the same pivotal issues that Fitzgerald captured. It has great colloquial language and pushes the reader to consider the central question: "You may be able to take the man out of East Harlem, but can you take East Harlem out of the man?"

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book....is something special. I've discussed this book with classmates and professor so it would feel repetitive to me to review it and I feel like I wouldn't do a very good job anyway. This book...everything it has to offer, the messages it gives and just how much it made me think makes it an incredible read not just for the sheer enjoyment of reading (never boring) but I feel it was a really important book for me to read. I could see the complexity of society and human beings and reminded me of how gray the world is. And reading an Own Voices book on the Latinx community as a Latinx person myself made me feel all these emotions. It touched on internal racism, system racism and oppression, and so many important things I... Idk if I'm making any sense and I don't know everything that can be done with this book I just see what I took from it and the discussions I had in class. I know this sucked I'm sorry.

TL;DR It was great.

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hello, everyone. I am tired and cranky and sick and stressed out today, so I'll keep this review rather brief. Although I feel bad because I haven't written a good review in a while. I'm not even in the top 100 reviewers this week. *Sobs* But anyway, enough of my pity party.

So … I was assigned to read Bodega Dreams for my Writing the Urban Experience class, which is this cool class where we read and write about … urban things. So yeah, it's exactly what the title of the course says. Only it's much more interesting than it sounds. But anyway! Point is, I probably wouldn't have picked up this book on my own. But even so, it was a fairly enjoyable read.

To put it simply, this book is The Great Gatsby set in Spanish Harlem, and dealing with drugs rather than bootlegging. Bodega is pretty much a clone of Gatsby. He builds up a fortune on rather sketchy terms, just to win the affection of a woman he's been in love with for years, even though she is already married to another man. So yeah, sounds rather familiar, eh? Throughout the book, I had trouble putting Gatsby out of my mind and not comparing him and Bodega. I mean, it was just impossible. And if you read through the other reviews on here, looks like just about everyone can't help but bring up Gatsby. It got to the point where I wasn't sure whether Quiñonez's mimicry of Fitzgerald was intentional (that is, whether it was supposed to be a retelling), or he was just flat-out stealing the plot.

I mean, the idea of modernizing The Great Gatsby isn't a terrible premise. On the other hand, I just kind of felt like a good deal of the plot had already been laid out for Quiñonez, if that's what he was doing. So, it felt a bit like cheating. But, oh well.

The lack of originality aside, it was a pretty good read. It was well-written and dealt with some interesting characters.

I have to say my favorite part was the dialogue. It was excellently done. In fact, the whole time I was reading this, I was thinking it might make a better movie than a book. Because really, the conversations between the characters were definitely the most interesting part of the whole thing.

Beyond that, I really don't have anything else to say. It's not the best or most unique book I've ever read, but the writing––particularly the dialogue––was good, and I liked it over all.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bodega Dreams" is one of those books that don't have a catchy cover, however as you start reading the first pages the book drives you into wanting to read more and more. It cought my attention due to the fact that it talks bout how it all started back in high school when sapo and chino became friends,which I'm in right now it shows how high school memories were meanful to both . Throughout the book the character(chino) grows into a complete different character. From a imature teen into a grownup who attends college,still having his friends from highschool who unfortunatly have turn into some drug dealers that don't value things as much. The ending wasen't as i expected,i would've liked if the ending was more dramtic.The auther didin't exactly write what happen to blanca. Did she move back with sapo? Did she have the baby? i think its an interesting way to end a book, Ernesto Quieñonez made me wonder..

[Sidik Fofana · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIX WORD REVIEW: Gatsby remixed and from el barrio.

[Writer's Relief · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let’s take a stroll with Chino in Spanish Harlem, where a Hispanic-American must choose between embracing a life of crime and violence or rising above it. BODEGA DREAMS is the story of a young man who needs a favor, and so he turns to the “king” of his New York City borough, Willie Bodega. Anything the community needs, Willie Bodega provides; but at what cost? Bodega intends to convince—or even hypnotize—his community into believing that his way is best. But he needs Chino to help him. As Chino is slowly drawn deeper and deeper into Willie’s world, he must decide who he is, what he wants, and what he’s willing to sacrifice.

Bodega Dreams is a wonderful novel that will force the reader to explore the line between pride and humility.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julio and Blanca are attending college, hoping for a better life than what they’d seen their whole lives in the neighborhood. But Julio is also drawn into the seedy side through his childhood friend Sapo. Blanca’s the one with the moral compass, but can she set him on the right track?

This is a story that takes you inside the Spanish Harlem NYC of the 1990s. It’s a gripping story with a great twist ending. I loved it.

[Pete Gomes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is Down These Means Streets versus Great Gatsby and neither of them wins. There is some nice neighborhood detail near the start, but then it seems the author is just abruptly shouting out cultural landmarks and some Wiki-Latino fact, as if to prove his bona fides. (That was a hallmark of '90s Latino fiction -- check out the When I Was Puerto Rican to see it on every single page.)

Then the boring lead character meets and talks with a neighborhood gangster and they meet and talk and meet and talk and meet and talk for about a hundred pages before anything like a plot happens. And that plot feels like it belongs to a completely other kind of book. Because it does.

This is the ripped off Gatsby part with Julio playing the Nick Carraway role, observing passively and never actually doing anything, and the Gatsby is a rich guy symbolically named Willie Bodega (eye roll) as the man who builds an empire to win back a woman's love.

Julio Mercado (get it? Bodega. Mercado.) is used as a pawn, and then when the lost love shows up, 20 years later, boom, she and Bodega shack up again immediately and then in the last 40 pages suddenly things happen and there are twists that are more shocking than interesting because nothing has been foreshadowed. Subplots disappear. Religious symbolism is thrown in pointlessly. Then it ends on a hopeful platitude, the kind of stuff people eat up. Which likely explains this book's durability.

This is very much a first novel, clumsily written, with spots of interesting language but an amateurish sense of craft. It was likely published to capitalize on the brief popularity of Latino fiction in the '90s. Today its thick sense of patriarchy has not aged well.

There are other, better Latinx crime novels and other, better Latinx literary novels. Seek them out.

[Alex Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in one day. Very cool. Of me, not the book.

[Demi (book_oasis) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dope book. Almost like a Nuyorican Great Gatsby in a sense. The dialogue and references to great Nuyorican poets, a love letter to Spanish Harlem and Loisada, it's all excellent. There's even a shout out to one of my favorite authors in the end. This book felt like home in a weird sense.

[William Burleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I liked Bodega Dreams more. I'm always hungry for stories that give me a view of a community or part of the world I'm not part of. In this case, Spanish Harlem, and the I certainly got a tour from the protagonist, Chino.
That was the good part. the disappointing part of me was that it was a cookie-cutter noir story perfect for a mystery books store. All good news if you are into that genre (and I am not), but at times the Dashiell Hammett-like dialog and by-the-numbers crime story plot points made me roll my eyes.
It feels clearly meant to be a series.
I'm being too harsh, perhaps. Good for the author for getting his story out there, and good for people who enjoy the comfort of a familiar tale, but I was left wishing for more.

[Sofia]

This book is a cleverly reimagination of Gatsby, if it had occurred in Spanish Harlem. It is so beautifully written, and Julio's acerbic wit and reflections realize the experience of a group not often taken seriously in fiction and academia. I've seen many reviews refer to the language as Diaz inspired, which is not entirely accurate. Rather, like Diaz, Quinonez is reproducing the speech and linguistic styles of a community. I would recommend this book if you're looking to read books about the 'American Dream' and how that notion interacts within communities of people of color.

[Ana-Marija · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had it's moments, but to be honest I was bored during most of it and I would've DNFed it if it wasn't a required reading.

[Annie Jabs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had the potential to be gripping but story arcs were sort of forced and writing was meh

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 rating) Chino, born and raised in Spanish Harlem, is trying to make a better life for himself and his pregnant wife Blanca. However, Chino doesn't make the best decisions and life doesn't make it easy. Willie Bodega, a man with a dream for Spanish Harlem, asks Chino for a favor. Chino reluctantly agrees and sets off a chain of events that he can't get away from.

I enjoyed this Great Gatsbyesque story set in Spanish Harlem. Throughout the book, I kept thinking if the ends justify the means. Willie Bodega has street-smart idealism paired with Young Lord ideology that makes me want to root for his vision of what Spanish Harlem could be. He and Nazario want to build a better community - they want to fund college educations, build better housing in the neighborhood with subsidized rent, and preserve the community of Spanish Harlem. All he asks in return is the people's loyalty. Loyalty as currency is tricky. He's also funding the vision with criminal activities that hurt the community. At the end, I was left wondering what was it all for and if it really matters why Willie was doing this since it was resulting in some good.

[Nicolas Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this novel. It flowed very smoothly and quickly and was hard to put down. The vernacular used is a mix of Spanish and English and is very fun to read. Having toured Manhattan only a handful of times, the characters and setting are somewhat realistic and paint a really good picture of the environment where the plot unfolds.

Being in some ways a Puerto Rican version of "The Great Gatsby", the book provides tremendous social commentary on the assimilation and hardships that Puerto Rican migrants have faced coming into the U.S. It also provides commentary on the ways Puerto Rican Spanish has transformed on Manhattan, creating a new culture.

The only thing that held this book back from 5 stars was that the plot seemed a little bit too unrealistic by the end of the novel. I liked the nitty, gritty realism that the book portrays, as it helps ground it to reality, but some of that goes away by the end.

[coty ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5) the writing isn't bad and the exploration of culture could have been interesting, but it just ended up being kind of boring. the plot is rushed and he twists near the end come too close together/don't feel properly telegraphed throughout the book and i'm kind of just left wondering if the author didn't quite know how to end the story so they were just thrown out there to have a conclusion. there's also some pretty "dated" aspects that really turn me off (lots of slurs, some light homophobia, a b-plot where a 27 year old woman is having a relationship with a 17 year old man and no one in the story thinks it's weird? it's celebrated instead?) i don't know! i was just hoping for a lot more. love the descriptions of the city, though.

[Yordanos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was reminiscent of Junot Diaz’s stories as it was centered in the community, stayed honest to the cadence of daily life and language, and ended on a note that was true to the characters, plot, and reality.
The pace and essence of the story and character development felt along similar lines as Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”...the absurdity, how slowly time/life seems to unfold, the feeling that nothing much is happening (with most of the characters) and yet life still keeps moving on, people in the stories ‘waiting’ for something to happen, attributing to what happens to them/their life to a higher power/entity, etc.

I’m glad to have discovered this book and Ernesto Quinonez’s writing; would recommend to others!

[Grace Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe that "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez can be looked at from two points of view. On one hand, this can be seen as an inspiring story. That through struggle, hardship, and doubt it is important above all to be true to self. Sapo is not concerned with what other people think of him and lives his life to his standards only. However, on the other hand, I found this story somewhat confusing and hard to follow, and at times a little boring. I think that the basic plotline was a great idea but as a reader, I felt as if I needed to be closer to the story to really understand the entire plot. Despite this, the message of the overall story was positive and overall well written.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked having a male POV, and I liked the character growth. It had a few twists at the end, which kept it interesting. It dragged sometimes in the specific location descriptions with street corners and intersections, but I imagine those details matter to readers more familiar with Spanish Harlem and Puerto Ricans in New York. I was rooting for the characters the whole time, which is always enjoyable.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Behind every great wealth is a great crime…every time someone makes a million dollars he kills some part of the world. And for too long, that part has been us.”

Twists. Turns. The pacing goes from slow to sprinting quick and we get tons of drama later on in the story. While I liked the chaos, I actually wish the trajectory of the story would have followed Bodega and Chino verses taking that hard left. “Bodega’s dreams” were more enjoyable than the reality of what happened. However, I was told this was spun off Great Gatsby so it wasn’t meant to be and that’s ok. It’s still good.

[vale garibay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was kind of slow but I really enjoyed all the characters and character development throughout the story. By the second half of this book I couldn’t put it down. It was a fun read about Puerto Rican mob life in Spanish Harlem. Loved the ending of this book!

[Ellen Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! I hope more people discover this book