From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant: A Novel

The critically acclaimed debut from Alex Gilvarry, a darkly comic love letter to New York, told through the eyes of Boy Hernandez-Filipino immigrant, glamour junkie, Guantanamo detainee. Alex Gilvarry's widely acclaimed first novel is the story of designer Boy Hernandez- Filipino immigrant, New York glamour junkie, Guantanamo detainee.Locked away indefinitely and accused of being linked to a terrorist plot, Boy prepares for the tribunal of his life with this intimate confession, a dazzling swirl of soirees, runways, and hipster romance that charts one small man's undying love for New York City and his pursuit of the big American dream-even as the present nightmare of detainment chisels away at his vital wit and chutzpah. A New York Times Editor's Choice, From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant unveils two of America's most illusory realms-high fashion and Homeland Security-ina funny, wise, and beguiling, and Kafkaesque tale for our strange times.

About the Author :
Alex Gilvarry was born in Staten Island, New York, in 1981. He is the author ofFrom the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, winner of the Hornblower Award for First Fiction (from the New York Society Library), Best New Voice by Bookspan, and selected by theNew York Times as an Editor's Choice. He's a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 nominee and he has received fellowships from the Harry Ransom Center and the Normal Mailer Center. His essays and criticism have appeared inThe New York Times Book Review,The Nation, Boston Globe, NPR'sAll Things Considered, and many other publications. His second novel,Eastman Was Here, was nominated for the PEN Open Book Award. He is a professor of creative writing at Monmouth University where he teaches fiction.

Review :
“Delicious . . . A left-handed love letter to America.” —Daniel Asa Rose, The New York Times Book Review “Lively . . . Hilarious . . . [This] whirligig of a book draws some striking parallels between the way we mythologize stars and the way we look at terrorists.” —John Freeman, The Boston Globe “It's rare for a novel to tread so fearlessly into the political and yet to emerge so deeply funny and humane. Gilvarry is a young talent on the rise. Watch him gallop through the mess we’ve made of our civilization with style and panache.” —Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story and Absurdistan “The deepest intelligence is poetic, incisive and inordinately funny. Heads up, folks. Alex Gilvarry just walked through the door.” —Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin and Zoli “Finally, a young American novelist who has the guts to confront the absurdity of the last decade. Gilvarry has given us a sly, hilarious, and wickedly insightful book about living in the United States (or trying to live in the U.S.) in the aftermath of September 11th. Fashion, terrorism, New York and Guantanamo Bay: in the hands of Gilvarry, hilarity ensues. A brilliant debut.” —Michael Hastings, author of The Operators