The ordinary seaman

the long version

America seen through the eyes of the huddled masses. The hero is Estaban, one of a group of Central Americans brought to New York to crew a tramp ship, only to be abandoned by the ship's owners. When their food runs out Estaban, a former Nicaraguan guerrilla, goes ashore to steal for them. His forays lead him to a Latino neighborhood where he finds work and love. By the author of The Long Night of the White Chickens.