The Last Flight Of Jose Luis Balboa: Debut Short Story Anthology from Vibrant Miami – Humor, Brutality, and Beauty

by Gonzalo Barr, Francine Prose (Foreword)

Set in vibrant, multicultural Miami, The Last Flight of José Luis Balboa is an absorbing debut collection of short stories from a gifted writer. Gonzalo Barr captures this international hub city in all its roiling guises, from the opulence of South Beach to the ferocity of Little Havana. Barr introduces us to unforgettable characters -- an unscrupulous newscaster, a Lincoln Road bar manager, a beautiful but cruel teenaged heartbreaker, and the title character, a suicidal Latin pop star -- in situations that teem with humor and brutality, absurdity and poignance. This remarkable debut offers a vivid portrait of a city defined by a blur of cultures.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Robert Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories. Nice voices. Some humor. Having never been to Miami, I cannot say if this is a snapshot of the city. I did not feel anything really coming through. I did not feel the city as a character at all. Maybe that's due to my having no affinity whatsoever for the place. Overall, a nice series of stories.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Everything was a non-story. He'd write something interesting, and the lack of a decent ending (or an ending at all) killed it. I couldn't bring myself to read the entire collection of short stories.

[David Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one a lot. I'm not a reader of short stories but this collection clicked with me. Remminicent at times of James Carlos Blake. The only part I didn't care for was the last story about a snuff film. Some topics should just be left alone.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I easily connected to the characters in these stories.