cover image Five Days of Bleeding

Five Days of Bleeding

Ricardo Cortez Cruz. F2c, $9.95 (129pp) ISBN 978-1-57366-003-7

Although Cruz received the Nilon award and a lot of attention for his first novel, Straight Outta Compton, his sophomore effort lacks enough coherence to make it appealing. Set in contemporary Harlem, it details the tribulations of a young, homeless woman named Zu-Zu and an unnamed narrator who thinks that he has fallen in love with her. Readers who aren't truly familiar with contemporary urban life and language will be unable fully to appreciate Cruz's work. And while the author should be praised for the innovative way in which he describes his city scenarios (even down to the title, most of the dialogue contains transcribed lines and verses of songs from the R&B, rap, and reggae hit parade of the past 30 years), his narrative style entirely overwhelms the characterizations. In brief, Five Days of Bleeding remains only a sketch; song titles take the place of a well-executed plot, and Cruz could have waited until he found he had something interesting to say, instead of simply an interesting way to say it. Author tour. (Sept.)