You can practically taste the rice and beans simmering on the stoves in apartments throughout Queens in Matt Burgess’ hilarious yet violent debut novel Dogfight, A Love Story. But to get the full flavor of Burgess’ tale about several days in the life of a Puerto Rican drug dealer and his family in June 2002, you must listen to Ozzie Rodriguez performance of the rapid-fire dialogue. Rodriguez gets the rhythm just right for each character in Dogfight, especially the aggressive, antagonistic quality to many conversations. Sometimes such dialogue can be menacing and hint at the violence ready to erupt at a moment’s notice. Other times, nearly identical words spoken in a completely different situation in the novel can be absolutely hilarious. Rodriguez balances this verbal juggling act perfectly without overdoing either aspect of Burgess’ writing. His one-man chorus captures a cacophony of characters – and I do mean characters.

Rodriguez also excels at bringing to life Alfredo Batista, the good-hearted, street-smart, Mets-loving, 19-year-old drug dealer whose mind races a mile a minute worrying about everything that could go wrong in his life. And Alfredo has reason to be worried. Thanks to the misinformed advice of a friend, Alfredo has accidently double-crossed the wrong drug dealer. Now, he has to try to stay one step ahead of a Russian mobster. But perhaps the greatest threat to Alfredo’s life lies right within his own family. That’s because his brother Jose — now known as Tariq since becoming a Muslim — has just returned from prison. And Jose’s ex girlfriend, Isabel, is eight months pregnant with Alfredo’s child. In an effort to get on his brother’s good side, Alfredo holds a dogfight to celebrate Jose’s homecoming, which coincides with the Mets-Yankees game that has everyone wondering if the Mets will retaliate against Yankees’ pitcher Roger Clemens for pegging Mets’ catcher Mike Piazza with the ball the year before.

Dogfight is reminiscent of a less violent, funnier version of Richard Price’s Clockers. And Fans of Spike Lee’s masterpiece Do The Right Thing will also appreciate the way Rodriguez slowly builds each scene in this urban fable towards its dramatic conclusion. Insightful, vibrant, and engaging — Dogfight stands on its own and delivers a memorable tale of love and revenge that vividly brings to life the vibrant streets of Queens, New York. —Ken Ross