The Latin Deli: Telling the Lives of Barrio Women

by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Overview

Through her beautifully lyrical writing, Judith Ortiz Cofer tells us of the women's lives that entangled with hers in El Building in Paterson, New Jersey.

A community transplanted from what they now view as an island paradise, these Puerto Rican families yearn for the colors and tastes of their former home. As they carve out lives as Americans, their days are filled with drama, success, and sometimes tragedy. A widow becomes crazy after her son is killed in Vietnam, her remaining word "nada." Another woman carries on after the death of her husband, keeping their store, filled with plantain, Bustello coffee, jamon y queso, open as a refuge for her neighbors. And there are Cofer's stories of growing up with a dictatorial and straying father, a caring mother, and a love for language that will lead to a career as a teacher and writer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393313130
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	05/17/1995
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952—2016), a native of Puerto Rico, was a long-time professor of English at the University of Georgia and the author of many books including The Latin Deli, Silent Dancing, and The Line of the Sun.

Editorial Reviews

"This powerful collection of stories, essays, and poems shows a remarkable range, and, like a great singer, Judith Ortiz Cofer knows how to hit all the notes."

Larry Brown

A collection of poetry, personal essays, and short fiction in which the dominant subject--the lives of Puerto Ricans in a New Jersey barrio--is drawn from the author's own childhood. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Cofer may well be the most important Hispanic writer in English today, the one who will happily leave behind ethnic writing to insert herself and her successors in a truly universal literature.

In These Times - Ilan Stavans

Cofer continues her strongly dramatic and beautifully lyric unfolding of the Puerto Rican immigrant. Pungent, evocative, and warmly sympathetic, The Latin Deli is a continuous delight.

Fred Chappell

Cofer is a superb storyteller. There is still much to be learned about women’s lives and about multiculturalism, and Cofer offers particular insights in both these areas.

Kathleen Aguero

Graceful, generous, and important.

Mary Oliver

A flawless collection.

Seattle Weekly

A delicious smorgasbord of the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds recalled from a cross cultural girlhood.

Booklist

"Cofer may well be the most important Hispanic writer in English today, the one who will happily leave behind ethnic writing to insert herself and her successors in a truly universal literature."—Ilan Stavans, In These Times

"Graceful, generous, and important."—Mary Oliver

"Cofer is a superb storyteller. There is still much to be learned about women’s lives and about multiculturalism, and Cofer offers particular insights in both these areas."—Kathleen Aguero

"A flawless collection."—Seattle Weekly

"A compassionate, delicate rendering of Puerto Rican life in America–told in poetry and fifteen short stories. . . . With the poetry accenting and enhancing themes revealed in the prose: a remarkably cohesive, moving collection."—Kirkus Reviews

"A delicious smorgasbord of the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds recalled from a cross cultural girlhood."—Booklist

"Cofer continues her strongly dramatic and beautifully lyric unfolding of the Puerto Rican immigrant. Pungent, evocative, and warmly sympathetic, The Latin Deli is a continuous delight."—Fred Chappell

From the Publisher