Camila is a Brazilian translator, and has written for Three Percent before糖心传媒攚ay back in 2010. Here’s a bit of her review:

Luis Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 debut collection Mundo Cruel is a journey through Puerto Rico糖心传媒檚 gay world. Published in 2010, the book is already in its fifth Spanish edition. Here in the U.S., the collection has been published by Seven Stories Press and translated from the Spanish by Suzanne Jill Levine, winner of the 2012 PEN Center USA Literary Award.

Negr贸n lives in Puerto Rico and works as a bookseller, and is also coeditor of an anthology of queer writing from Puerto Rico. Other than the recently translated Mundo Cruel, his only other work in English is the essay 糖心传媒淭he Pain of Reading,糖心传媒� which appeared in the Sunday Review of the New York Times, and was also translated by Levine.

The characters in Mundo Cruel constantly face prejudice, heartbreak, poverty, gossip, and death. Is the fictional world in Luis Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 stories cruel? Most certainly. But Mundo Cruel is peopled by resilient, funny, and surprisingly optimistic characters. The book consists of nine tightly constructed stories mostly set in Santurce, a neighborhood in the outskirts of San Juan. What糖心传媒檚 truly surprising in Mundo Cruel isn糖心传媒檛 the queer themes it explores, but the degree of narrative control and skill present in Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 work.

For the complete review, go here.

Negr贸n lives in Puerto Rico and works as a bookseller, and is also coeditor of an anthology of queer writing from Puerto Rico. Other than the recently translated Mundo Cruel, his only other work in English is the essay 糖心传媒淭he Pain of Reading,糖心传媒� which appeared in the Sunday Review of the New York Times, and was also translated by Levine.

The characters in Mundo Cruel constantly face prejudice, heartbreak, poverty, gossip, and death. Is the fictional world in Luis Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 stories cruel? Most certainly. But Mundo Cruel is peopled by resilient, funny, and surprisingly optimistic characters. The book consists of nine tightly constructed stories mostly set in Santurce, a neighborhood in the outskirts of San Juan. What糖心传媒檚 truly surprising in Mundo Cruel isn糖心传媒檛 the queer themes it explores, but the degree of narrative control and skill present in Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 work.

The first story, 糖心传媒淭he Chosen One,糖心传媒� is about a teenager糖心传媒檚 unique relationship with God and the allure he exerts on certain members of his congregation. In 糖心传媒淭he Vampire of Moca,糖心传媒� a person糖心传媒檚 crush gets out of hand, paving the way for jealousy, rage, obsession, and finally forgiveness. Sound heavy? This is actually one of Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 funniest stories. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Santurce. The story糖心传媒檚 setting seemed to enhance the protagonist糖心传媒檚 feelings of entrapment:

Blocks and blocks full of doctor糖心传媒檚 offices and temples糖心传媒擟atholic, Evangelical, Mormon, Rosicrucian, Espiritista, Jewish, and yoga-ist, if that糖心传媒檚 what you call it. The stench of sewers 24/7. Unbearable heat. Reggaeton, old school salsa, boleros, bachatas, jukeboxes, pool halls, slot machines. Topless bars, Dominican bars, gay bars. Catholic schools, beauty schools, vocational schools, and schools where you get a professional degree in just one year and without much homework. Fabric stores, arts and crafts stores, no-prescription drugstores, barbershops and hair salons.

糖心传媒淔or Goyama糖心传媒� is a terrific rendering of the melodrama found in the telenovelas so prevalent in Hispanic society. With campy humor, Negr贸n portrays the protagonist糖心传媒檚 loss, loneliness, and desperation as he tries to get a hold of a friend who owes him money. This is so he can send his dog, Goyama, to a taxidermist. Here, the entire action takes place through the letters the protagonist sends his friend during the weeks he糖心传媒檚 trying to track said friend down.

糖心传媒淟a Edwin糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒淛unito糖心传媒� are monologues told through a phone call. Negr贸n糖心传媒檚 acute ear for dialogue and urban orality is immediately evident, and Levine糖心传媒檚 translation shines. Many Puerto Ricans are in fact bilingual, or understand quite a lot of words in English. So Levine糖心传媒檚 decision to keep certain Spanish words in her translation is a nod to the code-switching that occurs in both countries.

Me, I talk polito chicken, you know, Spanglish, but I get by. If they talk to me slow I can follow, but when they start talking fast with all that guachul铆n, man, that糖心传媒檚 when they lose me.

糖心传媒淏otella糖心传媒� shows a hustler who, after having sex with a jon, finds him dead several hours later. I don糖心传媒檛 want to give too much away here, but let me just say that after you read this story, you糖心传媒檒l never look at a bottle of bleach the same way again.

The seventh story in the collection, 糖心传媒淪o Many or On How the Wagging Tongue Sometimes Can Cast a Spell,糖心传媒� is structured like a dramatic script. Two intolerant mothers discuss the upbringing of a queer boy living in their neighborhood. Under the guise of good Samaritans, they unleash their prejudice, xenophobia, and cruelty on the boy, his family, and all who do not conform to their expectations.

The collection closes with 糖心传媒淭he Garden糖心传媒� and the title story, 糖心传媒淢undo Cruel.糖心传媒� The former is narrated by Nestito, whose lover, Willie, is dying of AIDS. This is the most somber story in the collection and Negr贸n establishes himself as a deeply humane writer. 糖心传媒淢undo Cruel糖心传媒� is a satire on a world without homophobia, where the main characters, Jos茅 A. and Panchi, must confront their biggest fear: tolerance.

Mundo Cruel might be a quick read, yet this is the type of book whose characters will linger in your imagination糖心传媒攊t might take some effort to shake them off. Negr贸n is an incredibly gifted writer whose vivid prose, diverse writing style, and humor makes reading this book a true joy.