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Chango's fire

Ernesto Quiñonez

2005276 pagesabout 4–6 hours
2005
first published
  • 2004Rayo · 276 pages · ENGISBN 9780060564599
  • 2005Harper Perennial · 288 pages · ENGISBN 9780060565640

"Julio Santana is an arsonist. For a fee, Julio burns down buildings looked upon as unseemly by investors trying to transform the very face of the Spanish Harlem neighborhood he calls home. Julio has pocketed thousands of dollars from people who want to profit from the forced gentrification of his neighborhood, money he has used to make his parents proud by purchasing them a place of their own." "By controlling the flow of those streaming into the neighborhood, the true power players behind this insurance scam have made a fortune. So when Julio falls in love with Helen, a white woman who just moved into the neighborhood, he makes it his priority to stop setting his own neighborhood ablaze and enter into a life of clean, honest living. Little does he realize that his change for the good has angered his employers and promises to threaten Julio's life, along with the lives of everyone he loves."--BOOK JACKET.

How it feels

Emotional toneUnflinching

How it reads

Plot intensityCharacter driven
ComplexityLayered
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