The Bonfire of the Vanitiesauthor, Tom Wolfe, ingeniously dissects the turbulent heart of Americas racial vortex in this exhilarating tale of sweltering Miami

As the police boat speeds across Miamis Biscayne Bay, the scene is set for Officer Nestor Camachos great moment of heroism. Except that in this feverous melting pot of a city, Nestor's one act of heroism can be seen as an utter betrayal of his Cuban roots.

As Nestors world disintegrates his family disowns him, he cant get a Cuban coffee without ugly stares, and his girlfriend Magdalena leaves him for her sex-addiction psychiatrist boss his quest to right the wrongs brings him into contact with the full panorama of modern Miami. The Cuban mayor, a Yale-marinated journalist, the black police chief, the clueless baying art-buyers and an Anglo billionaire porn addict all come up for scrutiny in Tom Wolfes high-energy, scrupulous and hilarious reckoning with our times.

Back to Blood dazzles so much that you might want to read it through dark glassesIndependent on Sunday