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How to Leave Hialeah
United in their fierce sense of place and infused with the fading echoes of a lost homeland, the stories in Jennine Capó Crucet’s striking debut collection do for Miami what Edward P. Jones does for Washington, D.C., and what James Joyce did for they expand our ideas and our expectations of the city by exposing its tough but vulnerable underbelly.
Crucet’s writing has been shaped by the people and landscapes of South Florida and by the stories of Cuba told by her parents and abuelos. Her own stories are informed by her experiences as a Cuban American woman living within and without her community, ready to leave and ready to return, “ready to mourn everything.�
Coming to us from the predominantly Hispanic working-class neighborhoods of Hialeah, the voices of this steamy section of Miami shout out to us from rowdy all-night funerals and kitchens full of plátanos and croquetas and lechón ribs, from domino tables and cigar factories, glitter-purple Buicks and handed-down Mom Rides, private homes of santeras and fights on front lawns. Calling to us from crowded expressways and canals underneath abandoned overpasses shading a city’s secrets, these voices are the heart of Miami, and in this award-winning collection Jennine Capó Crucet makes them sing.
Crucet’s writing has been shaped by the people and landscapes of South Florida and by the stories of Cuba told by her parents and abuelos. Her own stories are informed by her experiences as a Cuban American woman living within and without her community, ready to leave and ready to return, “ready to mourn everything.�
Coming to us from the predominantly Hispanic working-class neighborhoods of Hialeah, the voices of this steamy section of Miami shout out to us from rowdy all-night funerals and kitchens full of plátanos and croquetas and lechón ribs, from domino tables and cigar factories, glitter-purple Buicks and handed-down Mom Rides, private homes of santeras and fights on front lawns. Calling to us from crowded expressways and canals underneath abandoned overpasses shading a city’s secrets, these voices are the heart of Miami, and in this award-winning collection Jennine Capó Crucet makes them sing.
169 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
July 17, 2013
Junot Diaz’s Drown. Sandra Cisnero’s House on Mango Street. Achy Obejas� Memory Mambo. These are just some reference points for Jenine Capo-Crucet’s marvelous short story collection, How To Leave Hialeah. Set in the vastly Cuban working class neighborhood of Hialeah, a city in northwest Miami, these stories are tragic and tender, violent and hilarious. A young woman seeks to resurrect a legendary salsa singer to help cement an internship. A gang of kids find a dead body and wind up having to protect it from themselves. And, in what might be the funniest of these stories, a son runs over his own father, and that’s not even the worst of it. To say these stories are firmly rooted in the Cuban-American experience is to describe the heart of this collection. To say these stories address nothing less than the great themes of literature—love and loss, family and country—is to describe its spirit.
December 13, 2020
Jeanine Capó Crucet is such a sharp, funny writer. This collection is great.
April 12, 2013
As with most short story collections, some of the stories are stronger than others... But when Jennine Capo Crucet is strong, she's really strong. The best pieces in this collection echo long after they finish, and her voice manages to be both culturally specific and impressively universal. A fantastic debut - more please!
January 26, 2020
The stories range from good to absolutely spectacular. It’s a collection and it’s hard to be stellar in each, but none of the stories were without something � though a couple I loved so much I would hope that she makes them into whole books. Beautiful writing, excellent writer.
October 12, 2022
(rating of the short story "How to Leave Hialeah") I really liked this story
October 29, 2021
I'm torn. 2.5? I REALLY did not like some of these stories. Like, visceral distaste.
November 17, 2021
Did I love this? Yes. Is there a quote from every story and a brief look into each of my existential crises pasted below? Also yes.
“She just wants to forget that she can’t stay behind the velvet rope come Monday morning� (Crucet 9).
I began reading the first story in the collection believing it would be all about religion, but afterward, I feel it more centered around different kinds of people. I loved the ending, and this quote comes toward the end. Jesenia fights for this idea she has all through the night until she realizes the reality of the situation, which I feel is represented in this quote by “the velvet rope.�
“I remember wanting to grab one and take it home to show Nuria later and win her back, but I knew better than to try and touch something so many men found so valuable� (Crucet 12).
I stopped in my tracks to underline this quote. It comes seemingly out of nowhere in a child’s reflections on watching a game of dominoes, but it is so heavy. In her reflections on the contesting relationship between husbands and wives and the women in her family, this line points out that it is not the women—it is not the people—who are “so valuable.�
“Something about knowing that thousands of people had already woken up around her made it possible for her to do it herself� (Crucet 34).
I know this quote wasn’t central to the story, but I was just taken with the suddenly lyrical, almost whimsical sentiment Crucet finds a place for. It’s a unique take on describing what gets you out of bed in the morning.
“Because for me, Cuba the place has been a story ever since Nilda came back. She came back and told it to me, and now it is worse than nothing� (Crucet 61).
The narrator in this story feels that once his wife goes back after being gone for so many years, he has learned that the memories of the Cuba he knew are no longer accurate. Ruined memories of Cuba make it seem farther away and farther from the reality of its existence.
“But Danny kept dunking, kept listening for a squeak or a scratch, giving up only after the last piece of ice had melted, only after he couldn’t ignore that he felt nothing, that his fingers had gone numb� (Crucet 68).
Stories about animals always break my heart. This “silly� concept manages to represent denial in grief. The way Danny sees everyone’s words as critical of him and his feelings is such a powerful portrayal of guilt when you don’t feel like you’re supposed to. Not feeling like you’re supposed to is a recurring theme in Crucet’s stories.
“Papi said, Manny, wait, but I was already at the door, ready to open it, to jog out to Ruben and Teresa to tell them that their ride was pretty sweet� (Crucet 86).
The brother-sister dynamic in this story really spoke to me. He’s mad at Tere. She gets to leave. She gets to escape. She gets to be late, and he’s angry. But in the end, he is the one who bridges the gap between her and her family. After being frustrated that she could break tradition, he is the one that reaches out when his father chooses to break tradition right back.
“Yamila thought the band of them looked so fresh, so bronze, that she wished a wave would crash over them, that the ocean would somehow split them all apart� (Crucet 94).
“Low Tide� was a story I had a harder time seeing the meaning in. It felt stagnant. It was upsetting. You don’t know who to root for. With Yamila, you’re frustrated at the kids and Hector. But when Yamila is goading Hector, you root for him. But by the end, there is no clear sense of who is right and who is wrong. It’s this uncomfortable feeling Crucet masters that keeps you captivated and unable to stop reading.
“To be honest, it was closer to a slap than a punch, and I only stayed with him afterward because that’s what I kept telling myself: it was a slap, not a punch, and every time I pictured it, his fingers opened up more, my memory making it over into something I could allow� (Crucet 102).
Honestly, I could have picked a million quotes from this story. It broke my heart. This quote encapsulates this feeling you have in relationships, not just with domestic violence, but with any toxic, controlling, or abusive behavior. You know that if a friend came to you and said their partner was hurting them, you’d be furious. You’d tell them to call the cops. You’d tell them to leave, to go somewhere safe, to tell their family to get help. But, there’s the lingering feeling that when it’s you, “It isn’t like that. It isn’t that bad. It’s just how we work. I love him. I couldn’t leave.� “[M]aking it over into something I could allow� is exactly what it is.
“He said—in her ear, so close he left spit there—You make her feel worse, that’s what you do, by telling her to get up. You make her worse� (Crucet 135).
“Relapsing, Remitting� played with my emotions. I was angry with our narrator for being selfish. I was angry with Melisa for being cruel. It was hard for me to keep in mind that she was a kid and she was going through something traumatic and she just wants her normal back. I wanted to cheer when her father grabbed her and told her how cruel she was being, but I know that’s wrong too. Crucet just paints with emotion and doesn’t give you too long in one spot to solidify an opinion.
“He looked exactly like their father when angry, and since she’d never noticed this before just then, she stepped back� (Crucet 142).
In contrast to Melisa in the previous story, Rebeca seems the righteous character to champion. When she gets in a dig about her aunt, you’re proud of her. When she and Jovany stick together, you feel like something is right in the world. This dynamic is portrayed with the backdrop of discovering a dead body. This disturbing discovery both brings the two together and then sets them apart. The sides have shifted when her tÃo comes to her rescue as she’s sobbing, and she freezes seeing him beat Jovany. At that moment, she is just a viewer, not a participant.
“You didn’t mean it, not even as you wrote them, but you wanted to mean it, because that made your leaving an escape and not a desertion� (Crucet 168).
The titular story lived up to the hype. This complicated relationship between guilt about knowing what you should feel and what you actually feel is center stage. In a different way, I felt similar guilt going away to Boston for the first years of my college career. I was so happy to be away, but I couldn’t say that. How could I admit I enjoyed abandoning people who so desperately wanted me to stay? “Escape� versus “desertion� should be as simple as perspective, but it never is.
“She just wants to forget that she can’t stay behind the velvet rope come Monday morning� (Crucet 9).
I began reading the first story in the collection believing it would be all about religion, but afterward, I feel it more centered around different kinds of people. I loved the ending, and this quote comes toward the end. Jesenia fights for this idea she has all through the night until she realizes the reality of the situation, which I feel is represented in this quote by “the velvet rope.�
“I remember wanting to grab one and take it home to show Nuria later and win her back, but I knew better than to try and touch something so many men found so valuable� (Crucet 12).
I stopped in my tracks to underline this quote. It comes seemingly out of nowhere in a child’s reflections on watching a game of dominoes, but it is so heavy. In her reflections on the contesting relationship between husbands and wives and the women in her family, this line points out that it is not the women—it is not the people—who are “so valuable.�
“Something about knowing that thousands of people had already woken up around her made it possible for her to do it herself� (Crucet 34).
I know this quote wasn’t central to the story, but I was just taken with the suddenly lyrical, almost whimsical sentiment Crucet finds a place for. It’s a unique take on describing what gets you out of bed in the morning.
“Because for me, Cuba the place has been a story ever since Nilda came back. She came back and told it to me, and now it is worse than nothing� (Crucet 61).
The narrator in this story feels that once his wife goes back after being gone for so many years, he has learned that the memories of the Cuba he knew are no longer accurate. Ruined memories of Cuba make it seem farther away and farther from the reality of its existence.
“But Danny kept dunking, kept listening for a squeak or a scratch, giving up only after the last piece of ice had melted, only after he couldn’t ignore that he felt nothing, that his fingers had gone numb� (Crucet 68).
Stories about animals always break my heart. This “silly� concept manages to represent denial in grief. The way Danny sees everyone’s words as critical of him and his feelings is such a powerful portrayal of guilt when you don’t feel like you’re supposed to. Not feeling like you’re supposed to is a recurring theme in Crucet’s stories.
“Papi said, Manny, wait, but I was already at the door, ready to open it, to jog out to Ruben and Teresa to tell them that their ride was pretty sweet� (Crucet 86).
The brother-sister dynamic in this story really spoke to me. He’s mad at Tere. She gets to leave. She gets to escape. She gets to be late, and he’s angry. But in the end, he is the one who bridges the gap between her and her family. After being frustrated that she could break tradition, he is the one that reaches out when his father chooses to break tradition right back.
“Yamila thought the band of them looked so fresh, so bronze, that she wished a wave would crash over them, that the ocean would somehow split them all apart� (Crucet 94).
“Low Tide� was a story I had a harder time seeing the meaning in. It felt stagnant. It was upsetting. You don’t know who to root for. With Yamila, you’re frustrated at the kids and Hector. But when Yamila is goading Hector, you root for him. But by the end, there is no clear sense of who is right and who is wrong. It’s this uncomfortable feeling Crucet masters that keeps you captivated and unable to stop reading.
“To be honest, it was closer to a slap than a punch, and I only stayed with him afterward because that’s what I kept telling myself: it was a slap, not a punch, and every time I pictured it, his fingers opened up more, my memory making it over into something I could allow� (Crucet 102).
Honestly, I could have picked a million quotes from this story. It broke my heart. This quote encapsulates this feeling you have in relationships, not just with domestic violence, but with any toxic, controlling, or abusive behavior. You know that if a friend came to you and said their partner was hurting them, you’d be furious. You’d tell them to call the cops. You’d tell them to leave, to go somewhere safe, to tell their family to get help. But, there’s the lingering feeling that when it’s you, “It isn’t like that. It isn’t that bad. It’s just how we work. I love him. I couldn’t leave.� “[M]aking it over into something I could allow� is exactly what it is.
“He said—in her ear, so close he left spit there—You make her feel worse, that’s what you do, by telling her to get up. You make her worse� (Crucet 135).
“Relapsing, Remitting� played with my emotions. I was angry with our narrator for being selfish. I was angry with Melisa for being cruel. It was hard for me to keep in mind that she was a kid and she was going through something traumatic and she just wants her normal back. I wanted to cheer when her father grabbed her and told her how cruel she was being, but I know that’s wrong too. Crucet just paints with emotion and doesn’t give you too long in one spot to solidify an opinion.
“He looked exactly like their father when angry, and since she’d never noticed this before just then, she stepped back� (Crucet 142).
In contrast to Melisa in the previous story, Rebeca seems the righteous character to champion. When she gets in a dig about her aunt, you’re proud of her. When she and Jovany stick together, you feel like something is right in the world. This dynamic is portrayed with the backdrop of discovering a dead body. This disturbing discovery both brings the two together and then sets them apart. The sides have shifted when her tÃo comes to her rescue as she’s sobbing, and she freezes seeing him beat Jovany. At that moment, she is just a viewer, not a participant.
“You didn’t mean it, not even as you wrote them, but you wanted to mean it, because that made your leaving an escape and not a desertion� (Crucet 168).
The titular story lived up to the hype. This complicated relationship between guilt about knowing what you should feel and what you actually feel is center stage. In a different way, I felt similar guilt going away to Boston for the first years of my college career. I was so happy to be away, but I couldn’t say that. How could I admit I enjoyed abandoning people who so desperately wanted me to stay? “Escape� versus “desertion� should be as simple as perspective, but it never is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2014
Capo Crucet's writing is rooted deep in a specific ecology and community. These are character-driven stories, not plot-driven, but all the same the body count is high. Almost all of the pieces in here are about death. Those that aren't are about bodies that decay or fail.
I tried typing down my favorite stories, but found that the list was getting too long and all-inclusive. If you want to read about a radio intern enlisting nuns and santeras in the quest to resurrect Celia Cruz, or what happens to a dead man's ferret, or Miami-Cuban funerals and Christmas Eves and multiple sclerosis and tai chi -- and you don't mind an unconventional narrative arc that often leaves you without a concluding dun-dum-DUUUUM -- then find this book. At the very least, read the title essay, "How to Leave Hialeah," which is remarkable.
I disliked the few stories about young, heterosexual couples -- but I'm not certain they were written to be liked.
I tried typing down my favorite stories, but found that the list was getting too long and all-inclusive. If you want to read about a radio intern enlisting nuns and santeras in the quest to resurrect Celia Cruz, or what happens to a dead man's ferret, or Miami-Cuban funerals and Christmas Eves and multiple sclerosis and tai chi -- and you don't mind an unconventional narrative arc that often leaves you without a concluding dun-dum-DUUUUM -- then find this book. At the very least, read the title essay, "How to Leave Hialeah," which is remarkable.
I disliked the few stories about young, heterosexual couples -- but I'm not certain they were written to be liked.
November 18, 2014
Such a great read, although to get the full picture, multiple read-throughs are necessary. Capo Crucet touches on many themes that almost any Latino/a can identify with, all while bringing such realistic and flawed characters to life. Each short story has a different tone, feel, and theme to it that make them perfect on their own, but even better when read together.
January 3, 2019
I really enjoyed this short story collection, most of the stories felt really unexpected. I love her ability to weave in a variety of characters, and how she honors and depicts her Cuban heritage. All of her characters really come to life, I especially loved her writings around relationships, specifically abuse. It didn't not feel trite. Overall great collection.
July 10, 2024
I must admit, as I read the first essay featured in Capó Crucet's collection, I felt a bit dissuaded from continuing; but I'm glad I did. Stories like "And in the Morning, Work," "The Next Move," and "Noche Buena" captivated and left me feeling changed. There's a magic to be found in Capó Crucet's writing that transported me back to my childhood and into the stories my parents always told me about life in a post-Castro Cuba.
I found the title essay to be particularly relatable as a first-generation Cuban-American � especially after finding myself back in Miami following university graduation. There are so many Easter eggs of both Cuba and Miami scattered throughout the pages, and these archetypes make the read all the more entertaining. It's been a special experience to read a book that aligns with my own cultural context, but above all, explores this concept of growing up being caught between two identities.
Despite these strengths, I was compelled to rate the novel at three stars (really 3.5) because there were more stories I disliked than loved. But those I did in fact fall in love with were exceptional! Capó Crucet is funny, bold, and provides each of her characters with a unique voice inspired by the very real and colorful people of Miami.
I found the title essay to be particularly relatable as a first-generation Cuban-American � especially after finding myself back in Miami following university graduation. There are so many Easter eggs of both Cuba and Miami scattered throughout the pages, and these archetypes make the read all the more entertaining. It's been a special experience to read a book that aligns with my own cultural context, but above all, explores this concept of growing up being caught between two identities.
Despite these strengths, I was compelled to rate the novel at three stars (really 3.5) because there were more stories I disliked than loved. But those I did in fact fall in love with were exceptional! Capó Crucet is funny, bold, and provides each of her characters with a unique voice inspired by the very real and colorful people of Miami.
June 21, 2023
This short story collection was different. Some of the content was relatable to my hometown and to my Cuban culture, which definitely made it more fun to read. I liked the first half better than the second. As the stories continued, the content became heavier and more abstract; I didn't expect nor want this from this book. I preferred the light hearted stories that simply highlighted cultural more's, expectations, and experiences. I also caught several errors in the name of familiar places and inconceivable distances where a character lived and went to school, making me question whether or not Capo truly lived in South Florida. This nonexistent technicality for most of the rest of the "non-Hialeahean" world (especially in Iowa) bothered me, the local, a lot. I cringed and became distracted from the story theme each time I'd cross such an impossibility. Capo's approach to sharing her background was unique and her writing draws you in, but I would have preferred a more consistent, emotional theme throughout and definitely more authentic references to existing schools and locations.
June 27, 2017
I read this because I wanted something to set the mood for a Miami trip. Jennine Capo Crucet is a gifted writer and I'm excited to read more of her work. I didn't find all of the stories equally captivating but I'm glad I read them.
My favorites were:
"The Story behind the Failure of the 2003 Radio Salsa 98.1 Semi-Annual Cuban and/or Puerto Rican Heritage Festival". I can't even summarize what this was about properly, but it's an excellent opening story, that changes pace and style .
"And in the Morning, Work" which was a story of a Cuban "reader", employed to read fiction to factory workers.
"How to Leave Hialeah" which seamlessly talked about similar feelings and thoughts I've had on homesickness, navigating the Midwest as a person of color, and becoming politicized.
My favorites were:
"The Story behind the Failure of the 2003 Radio Salsa 98.1 Semi-Annual Cuban and/or Puerto Rican Heritage Festival". I can't even summarize what this was about properly, but it's an excellent opening story, that changes pace and style .
"And in the Morning, Work" which was a story of a Cuban "reader", employed to read fiction to factory workers.
"How to Leave Hialeah" which seamlessly talked about similar feelings and thoughts I've had on homesickness, navigating the Midwest as a person of color, and becoming politicized.
January 31, 2018
I had to read this for my Global Lit class. When I opened the book I knew I was going to fall in love with the characters and the collection of short stories. The characters are so complex and raw which makes the story feel more human and relatable. The usage of language shapes a story in a way in which the audience can connect to on a deeper level. I personally identify with a lot of the characters in the book because of my Latina heritage. Personally it was nice to see characters like me represented in a realistic manner in addition to the deeper critic of modern society and personal struggles.
January 13, 2021
The stories in this collection address so many different identities within the Cuban and Cuban American communities. I am particularly partial to the titular story, which appears last in the collection. I have used this story before in my classes and have found many 2nd generation students relate to it quite a bit. The fact that this particular story is told in the second person is something that pulls them into the experience as if it is their own... and for some of them, it's not too far off from their own realities.
October 30, 2023
Capo Crucet has a keen ear for dialogue, a sharp eye for detail, and a powerful use of second person POV. She eliminates all nostalgia from feelings like love and homesickness, focusing instead on the mixed emotions that are the hallmark of honest storytelling. I enjoyed this entire collection of short stories, but especially "Drift" and "Men Who Punched Me." Her final story, "How to Leave Hialeah" has parallels to her superior novel Make Your Home Among Strangers. I look forward to reading more of her work. Keep writing!!!
June 12, 2024
just such a fun testament to growing up in the miami area. could have lived without some of the stories, some of which were slightly more painful to get through than others, but ultimately all of which are part of the experience. maybe i'm biased because of my upbringing but this was so wonderful overall. the titular story was kind of heart-wrenching and was probably my favorite, alongside "men who punched me in the face". very good. very very good
October 23, 2021
I think this one is closer to 2.5 for me, but I'm rounding up. There's a lot of really gross detail (which is one of my pet peeves). There are also two stories with second person narration (and a couple of places in other stories where she lapses into it for a paragraph or two). I loved some of the stories, but I hated more stories than I loved.
March 29, 2024
jennine is a genius. every short story felt like a friend i grew up with (quite literally as i’m from hialeah) and her own was just like mine. the ache of escaping hialeah and then dealing with being too different for the north and too afraid of going back home. everything i read from her sends chills down my spine. i absolutely loved her writing and formatting of this book.
June 10, 2018
The first story, I felt out of place and like I had insufficient context to understand the language, the references, the meaning of the story. And then, in every subsequent story, I fell completely into the moments of people's lived that Janine Capo Crucet describes. Highly, highly recommend.
October 28, 2019
Short stories that made me nostalgic for home. Capo Cruzet’s writing is funny and heart wrenching at the same time. Must read for anyone who has left home
Capo Cruzet’s writing is funny and heart wrenching at the same time. Must read for anyone who has left home.
Capo Cruzet’s writing is funny and heart wrenching at the same time. Must read for anyone who has left home.
February 5, 2021
These are all really great and paint a vivid picture of life as a Cuban American in Miami.
The Next Move was the best story for me and I absolutely loved it.
She has such style in her writing and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read in a good way.
The Next Move was the best story for me and I absolutely loved it.
She has such style in her writing and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read in a good way.
February 26, 2021
3.5 stars - a piercing, at times hysterical other times melancholic look at life growing up in Miami as a Cuban-American child of the diaspora and also leaving family behind to pursue higher education. The second person style in the last story was exceptional.
July 25, 2024
Really a mixed bag. It took me a long time
to get through this. The winner for me is “And in the Morning, Walk.� There were also a couple of strong stories. But the rest of it just didn’t resonate with me. The writing was good and I appreciated the Miami and Hialeah references.
to get through this. The winner for me is “And in the Morning, Walk.� There were also a couple of strong stories. But the rest of it just didn’t resonate with me. The writing was good and I appreciated the Miami and Hialeah references.
September 6, 2017
I picked this up after finishing her novel, Make Your Home Among Strangers. This collection is rich. I can't wait to meet the author tomorrow at our library...
May 25, 2018
Loved these stories. Some really funny moments, memorable characters and I really loved the titular essay "How to Leave Hialeah". Can't wait to read her novel!
February 16, 2020
Fun collection of short stories. Essential reading for anyone who lives in Miami.
November 17, 2020
Really great short story collection. I’d be hard pressed to name one that didn’t stick with me in some way.
January 18, 2021
There was nothing wrong with it (in fact, I found myself feeling a range of emotions throughout), but I wasn't completely drawn into the world Capo created.
July 26, 2021
Read for American women writers class
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