In this sardonic tale of two cultures, New Yorker Tristan Granados; Yale undergrad, son of a Cuban-born screenwriter and WASP mother is dispatched to Tampa, Fla., to make funeral arrangements after the death of his paternal grandfather, a modestly successful leftist novelist. Cultural differences spark comic but more often inane folderol as Tristan, a patrician figure among the the dead writer's extended Cuban family, tries to arrange for a cremation. Although this symbol of rational Yankee officiousness is blasphemy to the Cubans, Tristan is treated with a pathetic deference that yields his endorsement of a raucous wake. In a biting twist, Tristan is won over to respect for his late grandfather when he discovers the old man's classy Volvo ("with Bengy box"), his Toshiba 3200 ("one up on Dad's 3100") and his collection of "Bruce CDs." Yglesias ( Home Again ) acidly skewers the pomposity of Anglo culture and the desperate assimilationist tendencies of the emigre Cuban community.This was written when I was a little kid, and the Tristan character's college age so it's not literally me. But part of the book involves Tristan reminiscing about old times with his grandfather and much of that material is ripped from the headlines. Also dad really did used to use Toshibas.
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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/01/-em-tristan-and-the-hispanics-em/48017/
