Dominican Books

Blackness and race in the Dominican Republic

2011-07-03T23:02:00.004-04:00

If you are hoping to read a treatise on race relations in the Dominican Republic I hate to disappoint you. Such thing would be are of the scope of this blog, and I would be out of my depth.

What I will try to do though is to give recommendations for those seeking to understand more of this spiny subject.

One thing that has really caught my attention is that many more books about race relations, and the contribution of the different ethnic groups that comprise what is the modern-day Dominican, are of relatively recent publication.

These are some books I recommend on the subject:

Gender, Race & Social Issues

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz

2008-04-08T11:10:00.005-04:00

We have been glad to hear, although not really surprised, that Junot Diaz fantastic book has won a Pulitzer. The review below was written by fellow blogger Chirimoya and reproduced with permission:

This was not one of those 'unputdownable' books - it was better than that. You want to savour it and keep on savouring it, like a thrilling train journey that you wish will never end.

For those of us well-versed in the history of the Dominican Republic and the Dominican diaspora, whether through fiction or first-hand experience, Díaz takes us through familiar landscapes - the family in exile - mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, sex and death, fear and loathing in the DR during the dictatorship - he even namechecks Vargas Llosa when he tells his own version of Trujillo and the virginal Cabral daughter - but his high-paced, manic, smart-talking narration takes it - and us - into new dimensions.

The best thing for me was the 'watcher' - the narrator, whose commentary is peppered with witty self-deprecation, smart pop cultural references, the endless nerdy allusions to fantasy fiction perhaps laid on a bit too thick, but it is such a ride that you are truly sorry when it is over. Even the footnotes are a joy - the historical context is given a merciless satirical spin, his descriptions of historical figures like Trujillo and Balaguer especially. The author himself pokes his head into the narrative here and there - he admits to making factual mistakes earlier on in the story, and even greets the reader.

It took Díaz some ten years to churn out this book - surely a nerve-wracking challenge in the light of the high expectations generated by his book of short stories Drown, published in the mid-1990s - I bet he is so gratified with the result, not to mention the rapturous reception it seems to be getting.

You can find The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in our shop.

Taming the Secret of Gifting

2007-12-05T18:14:00.001-05:00

Who of you have not received that hideous gift that is from minute zero destined for the dark corner of your closet?

Be not the person who gives that kind of gift. Your gift does not need to be expensive, it just has to be something that reflects the "giftee's" character. Let us give you a hand:

For Children
Our store carries a good selection of books for children. If your child is bilingual, or you want him to practice both languages then these books are an excellent choice:

For older children we suggest:

For the Chef
You will not find as many Dominican cookbooks under the same roof anywhere! We have a great selection of books in English and Spanish. These are the most popular:

For the Busy One
How about one of our books from the Humor and Light Reading section? Great for reading during train rides and carpooling. Or Dominican Coffee to start up the engine in the morning. And of course you have to add our Beach Bum (Mug) to it.

For the Traveler
For that person that will be soon visiting or moving to the Dominican Republic we suggest these fantastic options:

For the Homesick
If it is that time of the year when your loved one would rather be in the Dominican Republic, then cheer him or her with these humorous and thoughtful gifts:

For the Discriminating One
Nothing other than the best for that special person. How about a unique gift from our Rare and Out of Print section, or our Autographed section? Books in our Autographed section are shipped gift-wrapped.

For the Hard-to-Please
Ah! What to do? Why, or course, give him or her a Gift Certificate from our store. You can never go wrong with that.

Need some stocking stuffers? We thought of that too! Check our Stocking Stuffers section. Gifts under $10.00, and something to please each one of your friends and family. Remember that if you buy $99 or more your order ships free.

Happy Dominican holidays! We hope to see you soon in our store.

Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple

2007-10-17T16:08:00.004-04:00

Ginnie Bedggood and her partner Grahame relocated to the Dominican Republic in the early 1990s and her book tells their story with great wit and sensitivity. This is, in essence, the secret of her success as an expatriate as well as a writer. Expats and their memoirs are destined to triumph when instead of focusing on the local folks and their strange ways, the writers acknowledge and understand that they are the foreigners and that it is their ways that are perceived as weird by the locals.

This book scores very high on this count. Ginnie combines a sense of humour with a sense of proportion, and a perceptive and positive attitude towards the frustrations of life in the DR that so many foreigners find so hard to cope with – while never, ever suffering fools gladly. Ginnie accepts that things are done differently here, but neither is she afraid of putting her foot down when someone crosses the line. Many, but not all of the fools she encounters along the way are visiting foreigners and would-be relocators, many of whom turn out to be comically clueless.

Another ingredient in the author’s recipe for success is that she learned Spanish well enough to live outside the expat bubble, understanding, communicating and interacting with Dominicans, who along with foreigners make up Ginnie and Grahame’s circle of friends.

Mad Dogs and English Couple is an easy and compelling read, telling the story of this particular couple’s early years in the DR, first as tenants and employees in the travel industry, then as B&B proprietors, writers and relocation advisers. Their optimism shines through: the story ends with them defying all advice and successfully building a house of their own, while at the same time tenaciously supporting a fellow foreigner who spent over a year in prison on trumped-up charges.

The ‘mad’ dogs of the title, who are not really that mad, feature throughout, but unlike some other animal-loving authors, Ginnie doesn’t let them take over.

What I would have liked to see more of were descriptions of the city and the surrounding areas, and a little more historical and cultural context, especially bearing in mind that many of her readers will have never been to Puerto Plata or the Dominican Republic.

I was sorry to reach the end of the book, but was reassured to note that the narrative finishes in the year 2000, so presumably a sequel or two may still be up Ginnie’s sleeve.

By Ilana Benady

Originally published in Dominican Today. Re-published with permission from the author.

Buy Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple!

Dominican Cookbooks galore!

2007-10-11T09:33:00.002-04:00

If you have visited our store you would have probably noticed that we have a large selection of cookbooks by Dominican authors.

Well, we are proud to say that you will hardly find such selection under the same roof anywhere. The reason this is so is because books in this particular section have been selected by none others than the ladies at DominicanCooking.com. The reviews and recommendations also come from them.

By far the most popular cookbook we carry is Aunt Clara's Dominican Cookbook. This fantastic book is the only Dominican cookbook with photos available anywhere. And a fine book it is. It has a modern presentation, as well as good photography. I am the type of person that cannot fully enjoy a cookbook without photos, so I may be biased on this recommendations.

The authors have pledged to donate a portion of all sales of this book (not only the ones sold in our store) to a charity they support in the Dominican Republic. Because of our partnership with DominicanCooking.com we are able to offer this book at a much lower price, and with free shipping (within the continental US), this is your chance of owning this fantastic book and also help a good cause.

The authors of the above-mentioned cookbook also wanted to offer a more economic version of their book, so they also published Traditional Dominican Cookery, a text-only version. The book is well-designed and has some illustrations, so you will still enjoy it. Through our partnership we are able to offer you 50% off the cover price on this book through this season Super Deal!

But these two are not the only Dominican cookbooks available in English. The Dominican Cooking "Aunts" found another book to add to our selection. The book is called A Taste of the Caribbean: Remembrances and Recipes of the Dominican Republic. This is a smart little book. With whimsical illustrations, obscure facts about Dominican cooking, and easy-to-understand recipes this book has become one of the favorites in our cookbook section. The book is also very cheap, so there's no excuse not to buy one.

But we not only cater to the English-speaking community. We also offer a large selection of Dominican cookbooks in Spanish.

The bestselling Dominican cookbooks in Spanish are the Mujer 2000 series, of which we offer all 3 books. The first book has been in print since the early 70s, and is now in its 24th edition! By famous Dominican TV chef Silvia de Pou, these books have been called the bible of Dominican cooking. The books have a humble presentation and lack photography (which didn't stop me from owning all three). They seem to be a very popular choice as a gift for brides.

On the more fancy scale of Dominican Cookbooks in Spanish we have the next most popular cookbooks in Spanish in our shop: La Cocina Dominicana, and La Cocina Dominicana. No, you are not seeing double, we have two books with the same title.

La Cocina Dominicana by María Ramírez de Carías is an excellent Dominican cookbook in Spanish. It is a hardcover, has some color photography and the recipes are well-explained. The book printed as a collector's item, has been now out of print for years. Some copies have been on the market for insane prices. We have now a limited-time offer of 50% the list price.

La Cocina Dominicana by Ligia de Bornia can be fairly called "the encyclopedia of Dominican gastronomy". With over 500 recipes, and more information that you could possibly find anywhere (there's even a section of Dominican food for babies!), this book illustrated with a couple of dozens color photos has been in print for more than 5 decades! The book was at one time the text-book for Domestic Economy in public Dominican schools. This book is also out of print, so get it while we still have it.

Another popular book in our shop is La Magia del Azucar III by Mirian de Gautreaux. This hardcover with abundant color photography is the third book in a series printed by the Dominican Republic's best-known baker. Sophisticated techniques and amazing results are explained step by step with color photography. A great book of cake decoration techniques.

Right now we have more than two dozen Dominican cookbooks on offer. It would be too long to review each one of them in this article, but there are some others we'd like to recommend to you:

Los Dulces Dominicanos: with recipes of Dominican desserts.
Cocinar es Facil: easy Dominican recipes in this award-winning book.
El Origen de la Cocina Dominicana: Recipes and history of the Dominican cuisine.
Beyond Rice and Beans / Algo Mas que Arroz con Frijoles: Dominican recipes adapted for diabetics. Published by the American Diabetes Association. A portion of the sales will be donated to the ADA.

Check all the books in the Dominican Cookbooks section. With the holidays approaching these are the perfect gifts for that special person. And for you too.

Porfirio Rubirosa: The Ultimate Sanky

2007-08-03T19:47:00.009-04:00

If you are familiar with the Dominican Republic you are probably familiar with the words sanky panky. It is Dominican for gigolo, or most accurately, a man who preys on female tourists, seduces them, gets them to fall head over heels for him and soon she becomes his ticket out of the Dominican Republic, or at least out of poverty. While this is not a strictly-Dominican phenomenon here it acquires its own identity.

If you are not familiar with the Dominican Republic, then perhaps you have heard of Casanova, or Don Juan. A sanky is someone somewhere between these character and a male prostitute, only that his victims swear by his love. A sanky is young, athletic, suave, smooth-talking, good dancer and lover.

Porfirio Rubirosa was all that, and much more.

Born to a middle class Dominican family and educated in Europe, Rubi soon learned that he could go around life living amongst jet-setters, princes, heiresses and movie stars based only on his charm and looks.

This is not Rubi's biography, so let's get down to the meat of it: What made women like Zsa Zsa Gabor fall for him? What makes women like Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke (the richest women of the time) throw caution to the air and marry this bon vivant?

Perhaps it was his rugged dark looks. Perhaps his adventurous, dangerous character. Perhaps it was the mix of intelligence (he spoke five languages), perfect manners, and his dark side; developed in the streets and bordellos of early 20th century-Paris. Or perhaps, as we were informed by Truman Capote, it was his extraordinary endowment and amatorial endurance and skills.

I guess we'll never know; but there was a je ne sais quoi in Rubi that made women want to find out what it was, and men to possess it.

If you wish to learn more about Porfirio Rubirosa I recommend:

The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa


	Chasing Rubi: The Truth about Porfirio Rubirosa

Porfirio Rubirosa The first Latin Lover


	Biografia de Porfirio Rubirosa (Spanish) Source photos: Dominican Today