Soledad SantiagoStreets of FireChristina says:
Francesca colon is Puerto Rican, lives in New York, is divorced and has two kids who are almost grown up. She just started a new job for the NYPD press office and has to fend off prejudice of her colleagues who believe that she got the job only because of affirmative action. On her first day at work an alleged drug dealer is shot by a police officer under questionable circumstances. Francesca has to decide where her loyalty lies: with the police or the latino community whose anger at the police erupts in furious riots. And then she witnesses an incident that makes her situation worse. Her private life seems to fall apart as well. Her two teenagers threaten to slip away. Her ex-husband, a former junkie, shows up again and her son prefers to live with his dad. In return her daughter’s boy-friend from Spain moves in. Not to mention her own love life.... Unlike in a traditional mystery the heroine doesn’t really have to solve a case. STREETS OF FIRE lets the reader dive into the life of Francesca Colon with all its joys and troubles. As a result the thread of the mystery is lost now and then. But Soledad Santiago who just like her heroine worked as spokesperson for various administrative bodies in New York draws a fascinating portrait of the hispanic community in New York City. In the course of the narrative it becomes clear how different the situation of a latina is from that of a white woman, how strong the cultural influence is that even a modern and seemingly liberated woman can’t fully avoid. For me Francesca was a good guide into this sphere even though I asked myself more than once where the journey was going. |
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Copyright 1999 Christina Gross & Monika Hübner |
