Between Dances

Set in a male-burlesque theater, this debut novel captures a bygone era of a seedy Times Square, following the mercenary life of a young dancer who falls in love for the first time. With the same grim beauty as John Rechy's "City of Night" and Jean Genet's "The Thief's Journal," this novel traces the arabesques of acrid smoke and loneliness wound around the dim world of hustlers and johns, of porn theaters and crumbling hotel rooms. "Between Dances," an early work by Erasmo Guerra, received a Lambda Literary Award in 2000 and is being reissued in a second edition. Praise for "Between Dances" "I was drawn to this book with its plot about a young Latino 'thang' trying to survive in New York by dancing in sleazy strip joints. What a kick to read about New York City from the point of view of a gay Tejano. The protagonist, Marco, is a Tex-Mex Holly Golightly-part hustler, part hopeless romantic." -Sandra Cisneros, author of "The House on Mango Street" "Between Dances is a novel about looking for light in the shadows and holding onto hope in the face of despair." -The Bloomsbury Review " Guerra's] writing is beautifully rendered . . . Between Dances is an impressive debut. It is safe to assume that we can expect further greatness from Erasmo Guerra." -Lambda Book Report ". . . distinguished by a writing style that is as lavish and beautiful as the world it describes is bleak and harsh." -Southern Voice