Dark Dude

Fifteen-year-old, Cuban American Rico Fuentes is a Dark Dude, slang for a light skinned person. Rico is so light skinned he seems white and this causes him trouble in Harlem, both with the black and Hispanic kids in school. Plus, his life seems to be going nowhere. He wants to create comic books with his pal Jimmy, who has discovered the needle and the false joy it brings. Rico has an old friend, eighteen-year-old Gilberto who wins seventy-five thousand Dollars in the lottery. Gilberto moves to Wisconsin, rents a run down farm for two hundred dollars a month and goes to college. Rico talks Jimmy into running away to Gilberto's farm with him. And thus Rico's adventure begins. On the road they meet both good and not so good people. In Wisconsin Rico learns that the land of Milk and Honey has some bad people in it as well in this book that advertises itself as a young adult novel, but I'm not so young and I enjoyed every page. Mr. Hijuelos won me over with the first sentence and keep me glued to his story for a whole Saturday. It's not often I read a book in one sitting. I did this one, that's how much I enjoyed it.

What a writer. What a story. This book is good for the young adults and the adults that love them...if you have a teen like I do, then read and discuss this book together!! What I liked most about the book was the author's ability to go into the mind of a teen in today's world, elegantly address the issues they face and tell a heartening story that really makes you think and have a LOT to talk about.

The first thing that struck me from the very first page was the writing style. Hijuelos writes like a modern-day Twain, using vernacular and touching on sensitive topics: race, discrimination and the hardness of innner-city life. The mention of Mark Twain or Huck Finn appear at least 14 times in the book. The book opens to an introduction of Ricos' best friend Gilberto who wins a lottery and heads out to Wisconsin to go to school, a way for him to escape the city life of drugs, crime and constant discrimination. It's a life that Rico wants to escape too, and thus the plot revolves soon of him leaving New York City without so much as telling his parents, and taking off for a 1000-mile hitchhike to Wisconsin. Rico is a 16-year-old teenaged boy who dropped out of school. He's a young, confused man with so much raw talent and intelligence yet lacks the guidance needed to promote those assets. It's Gilberto who shows him, indirectly, how to become a man and a useful contributor to society. A smaller role in this story is the turn-around for Jimmy, another friend of Rico's, who joined him on his trek to Wisconsin to escape his life of heroin and beer. It's a bittersweet coming-of-age book that is quite enjoyable to both adults and teens. Rico, who fought against his Cuban heritage all his life, now comes to terms with it once he's in WonderBreadWhite Wisconsin. It is here, trapped on a farm (much like he was trapped in Harlem before) where he comes to terms with his love for his parents, the guilt of abandoning them, his heritage, and himself and discovers that life isn't all that much better in the middle of nowhere. Topics like alcoholism, discrimination, drug use, school drop outs all are topics that are quite usuable in an Honor's English Class. I plan on using this book as one of my choices for independent reading. For students who have read Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this book would make a modern contrast. The title of this book--Dark Dude-- has multiple meanings. It refers to a light-skinned person, a person considered suspect because of his light complexion, someone who isn't quite streetwise, a white person not considered "hip" or straight", or an outsider, particularly in the context of ghetto society. The reader can argue or debate what part of "Dark Dude" the author wants to emphasize in Rico, if not all five definitions. Rico fits all the definitions of "Dark Dude."

This is a charming book written from the Cuban-Latino perspective in the language of its leading character, Rico Fuentes. Although it is classified for youth, I think everyone will appreciate it. My main exposure to Latinos are the Mexican, central and south American cultures. I knew little of the Cuban Latino culture before I read this book. Rico is a very sympathetic character. Fifteen years old, intelligent, but growing up under desperate circumstances in ethnic Harlem. A "dark dude", meaning he's light-skinned, blond, with hazel eyes, he doesn't fit in with his Cuban family nor with his Puerto Rican and black neighbors. I found myself rooting for Rico and every other young person trying to overcome difficult circumstances, who has a dream but no apparent way out. Ricco is determined. He travels to the heart of "Wonderbread county" in Wisconsin, to stay with his friend Gilberto, who also escaped Harlem. Culture shock. This story is about a journey, a modern-day Huckleberry Finn novel. It is easy to see why Oscar Hijuelos is a Pulitizer Prize winner. He spares the reader nothing, however, his message is hope. I highly recommend this book for adults and teens.

How many teens have wished they could escape the darkness of their lives and live in a land of milk and honey? Rico Fuentes does just that in DARK DUDE by Oscar Hijuelos. Rico is one-hundred-percent Cuban, yet he struggles daily to identify with his Cuban peers. His mom and little sister have brunette hair and cinnamon colored skin. His dad has both dark wavy hair and dark eyes. But Rico, with hazel eyes and fair skin with freckles, looks white. In Harlem, that pretty much guarantees daily harassment. When Rico has to change to a public school, he is exposed to drugs, crime, and violence like never before. Early in the school year, a student is shot and Rico watches in shock as his new classmates celebrate a day off. Soon Rico's skipping school to avoid random beatings. When his pops finds out, he warns Rico that he'll be spending the summer with his military uncle in Florida. It's not until his friend Jimmy is rushed to the hospital due to a drug-related accident that Rico realizes he has only one way out. He must find a way to Wisconsin to stay with his friend, Gilberto, on his farm. When Jimmy is released, Rico talks him into going to Wisconsin with him. After a road trip to remember on the way to the farm, they wonder what they've gotten themselves into when Gilberto immediately puts them to work painting the outside of the dilapidated farmhouse in exchange for their room and board. Rico finds farm life in Wisconsin to be much slower than in Harlem. He spends a lot of time re-reading his favorite author, Mark Twain. Then he finds himself attracted to a girl whose father has a drinking problem. He'd never realized that his own experiences with an alcoholic dad could be helpful to someone else. As the months go by, Rico begins to look at himself, and those around him, differently. More importantly, he begins to accept himself. DARK DUDE is a gritty read. The projects, the bars, and the backstreets of Harlem become real to the reader as Mr. Hijuelos drops you into each scene, and he creates a character with so much promise, but with so much working against him, that we cannot stop at each chapter break. Instead we read on, praying that nothing bad will happen to Rico, and when it does, we find ourselves urging Rico on, to find the best in himself, to reach for those dreams we know he wants. This is a realistic yet inspiring read for anyone who wants to find a way to make a different choice, to find the person they really want to be. Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger