Neat book - very different. Interesting look at life in this part of NY. Great characters, interesting ending. And very human. I really enjoyed it, funny in parts although its a description of a raw kind of life, and cleverly told.

This book was hilarious!

Set in the 1980's , the story follows the everyday lives of a divergent group of residents in a neighborhood of NYC's Lower East Side. Populated by Jewish immigrants from Germany, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Italians and a few urban pioneers riding the first wave of gentrification, the daily lives are much the same for each group. All are aspiring to make a better life and feel others are hindering them. Chow Mein Vega, a former boogaloo star continues to perform. Felix, a former Dominican drug dealer tries to pass as a Puerto Rican because they are citizens and then he can become a successful tomato merchant. But before the story's end, he has switched nationalities again, having studied Italian and falling in love with an Italian woman. Humorous comedy of cultures showing how each group though coming with different customs, are basically the same. Fitting considering all the immigration issues facing America today.

An enjoyable read - sure, you can clearly see (in plot development & language) that Kurlansky is not a ficiton writer, and the best-written passages are the cooking scenes (the author's literary roots showing there...) - but it's a fun story, mostly likeable characters & interesting setting; not bad at all for a first novel.

A wonderful glimpse into the messy neighborhoods of NYC in the 80s. I KNEW these characters growing up. It's great fun, if not very deep. Kurlansky draws us in with a collection of colorful characters and a lot of wink wink jokes for those in the know of that time and place. He tries to add in a dark secret at the end, and I think that part falls very flat - take it for what it's worth, which is FUN.

I just couldn't get into it... I wish he had stuck with Cod.

A brisk read. A sort of downtown Bonfire of the Vanities.

5 stars for the characters. And the humor I didn’t know Mark had in him Have read all his books

Loved the quirky characters, all of which were well developed and likeable. The author's intricate knowledge of neighbourhoods like this one just made the book.

Set in the Lower East Side of New York City in the 1980’s, Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue upon first encounter seems like your stereotypical “ethnic” story - You have your immigrant Germans, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans pretending to be Puerto Ricans and those who desperately want the neighbourhood to be ‘up-and-coming’ – and In reality that’s pretty much the whole story. Not much more to it. But it’s these overemphasized stereotypes that makes the book so quirky and warm. I found the beginning slightly slow because the whole time was spent explaining each character in depth, but later I realized that this was vital to the story as it made me feel like I knew each person. Every character became so real, so much so that i could imagine them being my neighbours and acquaintances. Is it a literary master piece? No. But it is a fun read.

Listened to the audio book version on a trip out to the mountains back in 2005 and greatly enjoyed this debut novel by Kurlansky (author of the nonfiction works 'Cod' and 'Salt').

Listened to this book on tape and just found it completely uncompelling. Did not keep my attention at all and thought about not even finishing it. Didn't feel for or care about the characters or the story at all.