DARK DUDE

New York City, NY: Atheneum Books For Young Readers, 2008. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Atheneum Books For Young Readers, 2008. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 440 pages. The author's debut novel for young adult readers. One of Oscar Hijuelos' finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequernt editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. "Autographed Copy" red sticker pasted in front. Presents Oscar Hijuelos' "Dark Dude". The Latino and African-American ironic term for a male who is fair-skinned or worse, white. Hijuelos has written, without condescension, a fable of a novel for younger readers: Rico is Hispanic, but doesn't fit in because he has blond hair and a light complexion. He doesn't fit in with the white kids at school either because he is Cuban, a "fake" white. Struggling desperately in a crime-riddled neighborhood (Harlem) and on the verge of being sent to military school for truancy, he runs away with a friend (alas, a drug addict) to Wisconsin. An inspiring pioneer-figure among Hispanic-American writers, Oscar Hijuelos died prematurely and suddenly on October 12, 2013 at the age of 62, his place in American literature secure, and his contribution of enduring significance. An absolute "must-have" title for Oscar Hijuelos collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Oscar Hijuelos. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize For Fiction in 1990 for "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love". One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER OSCAR HIJUELOS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 141694804X.