I met Ed Rivera personally two years ago. He taught creative writing at a college in New York City. I've just read this book now, almost six months after he passed away and it is incredible how inspirational he can be, both in person and in the written word. In Family Installments, Ed Rivera has set the example for future writers. He has done something that not even Piri Thomas, with all due respect, did in his novel, Down These Mean Streets. Ed Rivera presented a story that truly captures the Latino's experience, from the native country all the way to life in the United States, mainly in New York City. Ed Rivera tells this story with a clever blend of grimness and humor that is difficult to imitate. His characters are powerfully vivid and his prose is rich and sharp. These details are what bring the story to life. But what adds to the charm of the story is the way Ed Rivera can make even the most difficult and embarassing situations very humorous. The book is a real treat for Latinos and non--Latinos alike. I give it five stars.

This is a must read for hispanics and non-hispanics alike. A treasure for any individual interested in the immigrant experience. An excellent read!!

Rivera has opened the window to the world of what struggling Hispanic families had to endure just to become an almost invisible dust particle on the sill of America. This book captures the true essence of latin struggle and desperation to find a better life, the rigors of the ruthless yet merciful city (New York), and the good times though turbulent times. This book captures the pain, and frustrations of the Hispanic community coming to a newland, seeing it through the eyes of a developing juvinile into his manhood. This is a small nich in the historical carvings of being Hispanic. Thank you Mr. Rivera for writing this autobiography. As a young hispanic youth growing up in Corona, Queens during the early 80's, I can relate to the struggles your family and yourself have undergone. I was born in New York, but my father shared the same sufferings your father had upon migrating to America for a better life. He told me stories of living in the Dominican Republic and seeing pure poverty, then coming to America to work like a mule for close to nothing, saving every penny to bring my mother over and their new born daughter. We survived in a one bedroom apartment for 14 years...we were seven kids then. "My father also wears glasses fit for microscope". This is a great book, I hope you enjoy it as I have.