Back to Blood

The Bonfire of the Vanities author, Tom Wolfe, ingeniously dissects the turbulent heart of America's racial vortex in this exhilarating tale of sweltering Miami As the police boat speeds across Miami's Biscayne Bay, the scene is set for Officer Nestor Camacho's great moment of heroism. Except that in this feverous melting pot of a city, Nestor's one act of heroism can be seen as an utter betrayal of his Cuban roots. As Nestor's world disintegrates - his family disowns him, he can't get a Cuban coffee without ugly stares, and his girlfriend Magdalena leaves him for her sex-addiction psychiatrist boss - his quest to right the wrongs brings him into contact with the full panorama of modern Miami. The Cuban mayor, a Yale-marinated journalist, the black police chief, the clueless baying art-buyers and an Anglo billionaire porn addict all come up for scrutiny in Tom Wolfe's high-energy, scrupulous and hilarious reckoning with our times. 'Back to Blood dazzles so much that you might want to read it through dark glasses' - Independent on Sunday

Tom Wolfe