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14 Torres, J. L. The Family terrorist and other stories. Houston, TX: Arte Público Press, 2008. 132p ISBN 9781558855274 trade paperback $14.95
In his first novel, The Family Terrorist and Other Stories, J. L. Torres explores the effects of diaspora on Puerto Ricans living in the northeastern mainland of Puerto Rico. Torres is a professor of Latina/o literatures, as well as American literature and creative writing, at SUNY Plattsburgh in New York. Torres himself was bom in Puerto Rico and grew up in the Bronx. His works convey an unwavering aura of credibility. The landscape descriptions are austere, echoing the characters' mournful detachment from their surroundings, and are rendered in such a way that it would be shocking to visit the area and not see "buildings ....