In Paradise Travel, by Jorge Franco, translated by Katherine Silver (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Marlon Cruz, a naïve young man from Colombia, finds himself alone in New York City when he has a fight with his girlfriend and storms out of their hotel room. Marlon speaks no English, has no money, lives in the States illegally and knows neither the name nor the address of their hotel. Through his story, told in the first person and written in simple, straightforward prose, we experience his fear, hunger, despair and determination as he drags himself out of the gutter (literally) and manages to survive the cold streets of America. This story stayed with me long after I turned the last page.