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23rd out of 200 books
—
84 voters
From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant
Fashionistas and g-men clash in a mastermindful debut
Boyet Hernandez is a small man with a big American dream when he arrives in New York in 2002, fresh out of fashion school in the Philippines. But on the brink of fame and fortune, there comes instead a knock on the door in the middle of the night: the flamboyant ex-Catholic is swept to America’s most notorious prison, ad...more
Boyet Hernandez is a small man with a big American dream when he arrives in New York in 2002, fresh out of fashion school in the Philippines. But on the brink of fame and fortune, there comes instead a knock on the door in the middle of the night: the flamboyant ex-Catholic is swept to America’s most notorious prison, ad...more
Hardcover, 302 pages
Published
January 5th 2012
by Viking Adult
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Alex Gilvarry has written an absolutely brilliant and entertaining novel. The premise is so outlandish – he combines a humorous satirical look at the fashion industry with eye-opening insights into the way “detainees” are treated at Guantanamo Prison. It doesn’t seem possible that these two storylines could be joined together in an interesting and compelling way, but Gilvarry does it. The book is written as the confession of Boy Hernandez, a Filipino immigrant with dreams of becoming a world fam...more
The title is long and vague, but this is an excellent satire of America's war on terror. Boyet "Boy" Hernandez is accused of being a fashion terrorist. He's from the Philippines and moves to New York to design women's clothing. Boy finds a girlfriend, and becomes successful with help from his investor, Ahmed, and publicist, Ben Laden. Boy gets a show at a major Fashion Week designer showcase in Bryant Park. Barney's, Neiman, and other buyers want his stuff and he needs more cash for production....more
Every once in a while I find one of those truly odd books that I can't put down because I love it so much. This is one of those books. The concept of this novel is so farfetched and outlandish that, although the writing isn't 100% laugh-out-loud hilarious, the big picture of what's going on is incredibly weird. But this isn't a "weird" book, per se, it's just a weird concept: Filipino fashionista arrives in NYC almost penniless, takes the fashion world by storm and then ends up a prisoner in Git...more
Prepare to be charmed. From the moment, Boyet Hernandez hits New York City from his native Philippines in 2002, his exuberance and talent starts to propel him to the top of the fashion world. He comes with nothing but determination to make it in the only world he cares about. Several years later, he has his own line (B)oy, magazine spreads and an American girlfriend. He has it all, or so it seems, until the knock comes in the middle of the night and he is hustled off to a military prison. His cr...more
Alex Gilvarry writes a very good tongue-in-cheek modern social commentary. The premise itself is a little nutty, as aspiring fashion designer Boyet (call him Boy) Hernandez bumbles his way into trouble with homeland security and earns a one-way ticket to Gitmo.
This debut novel is amusing and engaging. I like Gilvarry's writing style, although his pacing isn't the fastest, his characters are real, rounded and believable. It is their quirks and foibles that make up the story line as everything tha...more
This debut novel is amusing and engaging. I like Gilvarry's writing style, although his pacing isn't the fastest, his characters are real, rounded and believable. It is their quirks and foibles that make up the story line as everything tha...more
POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW:
1. First of all: the sheer chutzpah, to write a comedy about Guantanamo. But comedy it is: Boyet (Boy) Hernandez, just-off-the-jet fashion designer from the Philippines and armed with a degree from the Fashion Institute of Makati; landing wide-eyed and hungry in New York to get the "dollar dollar bill y'all;" roaming through an underworld filled with exotic models, Williamsburg hipsters, and bad performance art; then, in a narrative shift worthy of a comedy of (t)errors,...more
1. First of all: the sheer chutzpah, to write a comedy about Guantanamo. But comedy it is: Boyet (Boy) Hernandez, just-off-the-jet fashion designer from the Philippines and armed with a degree from the Fashion Institute of Makati; landing wide-eyed and hungry in New York to get the "dollar dollar bill y'all;" roaming through an underworld filled with exotic models, Williamsburg hipsters, and bad performance art; then, in a narrative shift worthy of a comedy of (t)errors,...more
From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant by Alex Gilvarry (Viking; 302 pages; $26.95).
In Alex Gilvarry's first novel From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, his main character, Boyet Hernandez, is accused of terrorism and thrown into Guantánamo Bay. The kicker is that Boy is a fashion designer from the Philippines who loves America and would never even hurt a fly. Mr. Gilvarry uses irony and absurdity in his timely debut, while at the same time he shows the injustice of detaining and impris...more
In Alex Gilvarry's first novel From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, his main character, Boyet Hernandez, is accused of terrorism and thrown into Guantánamo Bay. The kicker is that Boy is a fashion designer from the Philippines who loves America and would never even hurt a fly. Mr. Gilvarry uses irony and absurdity in his timely debut, while at the same time he shows the injustice of detaining and impris...more
This is a bit out of my normal range of reading. This is not just because I have been reading so much YA literature, but also because I generally try to avoid anything political. However, when I got an offer to review this book, I took it, since who doesn't love a free book. Besides, it's always (note: this is hyperbole) good to push your boundaries and leave your comfort zone. I am so glad I did.
From the first, I loved this book. Boy has such a clear strong voice and a wonderful sense of humor,...more
From the first, I loved this book. Boy has such a clear strong voice and a wonderful sense of humor,...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Grade: B+
L/C Ratio: 40/60
(This means I estimate the author devoted 40% of his effort to creating a literary work of art and 60% of his effort to creating a commercial bestseller.)
Thematic Breakdown:
30% - Life of a detainee
25% - NYC fashion industry
20% - Humor
20% - Relationships
5% - Politics
I don't typically consider suspected terrorists to be a source of comedy. Then again, nothing about Gilvarry's debut novel is very typical – and that's what makes it so refreshing. The flashback approach is...more
L/C Ratio: 40/60
(This means I estimate the author devoted 40% of his effort to creating a literary work of art and 60% of his effort to creating a commercial bestseller.)
Thematic Breakdown:
30% - Life of a detainee
25% - NYC fashion industry
20% - Humor
20% - Relationships
5% - Politics
I don't typically consider suspected terrorists to be a source of comedy. Then again, nothing about Gilvarry's debut novel is very typical – and that's what makes it so refreshing. The flashback approach is...more
I won this book from a contest on Goodreads.
Boyet Hernandez is from Pakistan and decides to go to America to live his dream of becoming a famous woman's fashion designer. Once he begins to be recognized for his work, he needs to find an investor to further his lines. When he moves to a new flat in New York, he meets a neighbour, Ahmed Lakhani who is not at all as he seems/says he is. But he is willing to back Boy on his quest to become of fashion designer and Boy couldn't be happier, although wi...more
Boyet Hernandez is from Pakistan and decides to go to America to live his dream of becoming a famous woman's fashion designer. Once he begins to be recognized for his work, he needs to find an investor to further his lines. When he moves to a new flat in New York, he meets a neighbour, Ahmed Lakhani who is not at all as he seems/says he is. But he is willing to back Boy on his quest to become of fashion designer and Boy couldn't be happier, although wi...more
Picked this for a book club because it was supposed to be a funny book and we've been having some downer books. It was indeed funny in places, but not really laugh out loud funny. For me, anyway. Some reviewers claim to have laughed out loud. This may be your experience as well!
The plot as a whole, however, is funny in a post 9/11 satire kind of way. A fashion designer gets mixed up with a terrorist and then is rounded up and plunked down in Guantanamo Bay where he writes out his life story and...more
The plot as a whole, however, is funny in a post 9/11 satire kind of way. A fashion designer gets mixed up with a terrorist and then is rounded up and plunked down in Guantanamo Bay where he writes out his life story and...more
I read this book out of curiosity because the author is a friend of a friend (though I have not met the author personally). I approached it with no expectations, reading no prior reviews, watching only a promotional video. The book was certainly funny, but it was also very sad, particularly in the way it ended. It was lighthearted for the majority of the book, even in spite of the circumstances it conveyed, and then abruptly, it all shifted. I guess this approach makes sense, considering that's...more
Alex Gilvarry has taken a very challenging subject - namely inhumane and barely legal detention at Gtimo - and crafted a profound, funny, endearing and thought-provoking novel/commentary/screed. He's developed a deep and compelling character in Boy - who starts as the victim who stokes every ounce of anger in the reader, then morphs into a fighter who challenges the power structure, the thugs, the spooks, the thieves, the terrorists and the military brass and beats them all.
Boy's tale in the US...more
Boy's tale in the US...more
This books tells the story of Boy Hernandez, a budding fashion designer, whose career is indefinitely derailed when he is indefinitely detained on account of his involvement with a terrorist (the "terrorist" part being something of which he was previously unaware, due to his admittedly staggering naivete). It details his life leading up to detainment, and then detainment itself, with a short afterword.
I feel that the question this book is ultimately asking (what are the consequences of an imperf...more
I feel that the question this book is ultimately asking (what are the consequences of an imperf...more
"Boyet Hernandez is a small man with a big American dream when he arrives in New York in 2002, fresh out of design school in Manila. But on the brink of fame and fortune, there comes instead a knock on the door in the middle of the night: the flamboyant ex-Catholic is swept to Gitmo, administered a Koran, and locked away indefinitely to discover his link to a terrorist plot. Now from his six-by-eight-foot cell, Boy prepares for the trial of his life with this intimate confession, even as his bel...more
*Many of the footnotes included (especially the ones regarding Boy's mistakes) crack me up.
"He began to resemble a Filipino George Michael circa 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me'" (79).
“Before eighth grade I'd been much more inclined to sketch cartoonish bodies than hang out with real ones after school” (81).
“...an out of place L.L. Bean backpack with the initials T.W.M. rested against her ankle. I would find out later that the initials belonged to one Todd Wayne Mercer, an ex-boyfriend. He took...more
"He began to resemble a Filipino George Michael circa 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me'" (79).
“Before eighth grade I'd been much more inclined to sketch cartoonish bodies than hang out with real ones after school” (81).
“...an out of place L.L. Bean backpack with the initials T.W.M. rested against her ankle. I would find out later that the initials belonged to one Todd Wayne Mercer, an ex-boyfriend. He took...more
When I read the blurb for this book, I was surprised at the attempted conjoining of fashion and terrorism. And it was apparently funny. Well, funny it is. Gilvarry creates Boy with care, from the artfully placed acknowledgements section (by one B.R.H) to the slyly detailed footnotes, where we come to know of Boy’s penchant for mistakenly quoting authors and designers. The body of the book is in Boy’s voice, first person, written apparently while in prison, at the behest of his interrogator, and...more
A strange and wonderful combination of thriller, political satire, fashion fairy tale and love letter to New York, this book is a collision of the most unlikely elements, but Gilvarry has managed to make them stick. I loved the well crafted absurdity that permeates the whole novel, and the dark humor in the tone. It's the best sort of white knuckled read that has you giggling madly as Boy's life explodes in a cloud of smoke, satin and sequins.
On a side note, the author, Alex Gilvarry will be doi...more
On a side note, the author, Alex Gilvarry will be doi...more
This is closer to 3.5, but I’m rounding it up for the sheer audacity of juxtaposing the NY fashion scene and the realities of our government’s GWOT, when we suppressed freedom in order to fight the “axis of evil”, because they hated our freedoms.
All the descriptions sounded like something I’d love, so I was set up for some disappointment. For me, there was just too much of the fashion world, which is almost a parody of itself (IMO), so there isn’t much room to lay on the satire. The descriptions...more
All the descriptions sounded like something I’d love, so I was set up for some disappointment. For me, there was just too much of the fashion world, which is almost a parody of itself (IMO), so there isn’t much room to lay on the satire. The descriptions...more
This is not a book I’d heard much about, but a friend glowingly recommended it to me so I thought I’d give it a try. Wow! What a novel.
Taking place during the presidency of George W. Bush, the story centers on a young Filipino clothing designer (an immigrant to the U.S.) named Boy trying to make a name for himself in the fashion world. He becomes involved with a neighbor (a former fabric salesman named Ahmed) who becomes Boy’s financial angel. Little does the naïve Boy know that his patron is m...more
Taking place during the presidency of George W. Bush, the story centers on a young Filipino clothing designer (an immigrant to the U.S.) named Boy trying to make a name for himself in the fashion world. He becomes involved with a neighbor (a former fabric salesman named Ahmed) who becomes Boy’s financial angel. Little does the naïve Boy know that his patron is m...more
This is a bold book. It is bold in its style, its thesis, and its story. While Gilvarry's narrative and characters are big and playful, the underlying dilemmas are serious: What happens to those falsely accused or mistakenly detained when the remedies of the American criminal justice system are unavailable to them? How does one prove one's innocence when the system is set up to prove one's guilt? Gilvarry skillfully navigates the space between black comedy and farce without delivering a polemic,...more
I found the main character, Boy Hernandez, very straight fashion designer from the Phillipines trying to make a name in NYC, to be original, if nothing else. Boy finds an investor, a Pakistani con man, who gives him his start-up money, and hooks him up with a thug who can fix the manufacturing problems that come with his first small successes. By the time Boy is poised to make it to Bryant Park for NY Fashion Week, he has come undone. His investor is trying to make deals with some Somalis for fe...more
You're never going to believe what I'm about to tell you: this is a hysterical novel that combines fashion and politics. And it works!
Filipino fashion designer Boyet Hernandez moves to New York City in hopes of achieving his dream -- a haute couture fashion line -- and gets funding (reluctantly) from his blowhard neighbor Ahmed Qureshi. Boy is preoccupied with creating his line and getting his name out in the fashion world by doing styling, and he's happy to tune out Ahmed's bizarre behavior and...more
Filipino fashion designer Boyet Hernandez moves to New York City in hopes of achieving his dream -- a haute couture fashion line -- and gets funding (reluctantly) from his blowhard neighbor Ahmed Qureshi. Boy is preoccupied with creating his line and getting his name out in the fashion world by doing styling, and he's happy to tune out Ahmed's bizarre behavior and...more
It's sometimes hard to understand why the author makes the jump between writing about the character’s time in NYC and the character’s time in jail. Even halfway through the book I often confused the narrator with the main character with the author. Because the title has “Memoirs” in it, I think it’s kind of deceiving. It reads very much like nonfiction. Another reason why the nonfiction/fiction thing is confusing is that so much of the story is based off of real life events that it’s hard to sep...more
Timely, provocative, and haunting. This book successfully depicts the political turmoil of the past decade. While it often evokes Kafka and Vonnegut, Gilvarry makes sure never to lull you into believing that his work is fictitious.
Boyet Hernandez, fashion terrorist, wakes up in No Man's Land and ponders the significance of thought thoughts and worthless confessions. Reminds me of Kafka's The Trial paired with the stark, gritty humanism of Yasmina Khadra's fundamentalist novels. Phenomenal piece...more
Boyet Hernandez, fashion terrorist, wakes up in No Man's Land and ponders the significance of thought thoughts and worthless confessions. Reminds me of Kafka's The Trial paired with the stark, gritty humanism of Yasmina Khadra's fundamentalist novels. Phenomenal piece...more
I didn't know what to think when I picked up this book and saw the title and the illustration on the cover. A hooded prisoner in an orange jumpsuit sitting on a toliet reading a Vogue magazine. But it did what it was designed to do, grabbed my attention. I don't know how to quite review this book, in all honesty. All I know is I had a hard time putting it down when I'd find the time to read it. This is going to be one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. The ending was, cliche,...more
Jan 13, 2012
PopcornReads
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
cross-cultural,
fiction,
general-fiction,
giveaway,
humorous,
satire,
politics,
alex-gilvarry
Book Giveaway & Review:
So, which readers are best suited to this novel’s satirical but highly political content? Pretty much anyone who lived through the hysteria and absurdities following 9/11. It’s a witty satire that bursts the bubble of the times when people seemed to see terrorists around every corner. Although it’s quite humorous, it also has very chilling moments. I can’t weave the humor into my review but I can give you an idea of the storyline. Read the rest of my review and enter t...more
So, which readers are best suited to this novel’s satirical but highly political content? Pretty much anyone who lived through the hysteria and absurdities following 9/11. It’s a witty satire that bursts the bubble of the times when people seemed to see terrorists around every corner. Although it’s quite humorous, it also has very chilling moments. I can’t weave the humor into my review but I can give you an idea of the storyline. Read the rest of my review and enter t...more
This book was refreshing and brilliant, and I'd recommend it to anyone who just really really loves America. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and satire. The comedy blunts the horrifying aspects of the main character's experience being falsely accused of terrorism and getting sent to Guantanamo. It's a brilliant novel that touches upon ideas of post-9/11 citizenship and racism in America. I am really looking forward to following the work of this talented author!
What do you get when you mix the New York fashion scene with al-Qaeda? You get a darkly humorous novel that delves into the paranoia that gripped the US in the months and years following 9/11. From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant is just that, as it follows Boyet Hernandez, a Filipino designer who has come to New York to make a name for himself and his clothing line (B)oy.
Read the rest of this review (and more!) at www.insearchoftheendofthesidewalk.com
Read the rest of this review (and more!) at www.insearchoftheendofthesidewalk.com
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Exceptional Books: Win From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant! | 2 | 15 | Jan 15, 2012 11:20am | |
| THE JAMES MASON C...: Win From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant! | 2 | 5 | Jan 13, 2012 08:58am | |
| Creative Reviews: Win From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant! | 1 | 1 | Jan 13, 2012 08:34am |
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“You see, real freedom is something tangible- it's the American's birthright- but it is also something that can be taken away at a moment's notice.”
—
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Oct 29, 2011 01:14pm