Jessica Hagedorn's first novel, Dogeaters, was nominated for the National Book Award and hailed by Robert Stone as " the definitive novel of the encounter between the Philippines and America." Hagedorn's long-awaited second novel, The Gangster of Love, is equally compelling as she continues to illuminate flamboyantly that intersection where American pop culture and local Filipino tradition commingle. Alternating between the Philippines and the United States, The Gangster of Love is the story of Rocky Rivera, who plays in a dissolute rock band with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Elvis Chang. Rocky's spirited and deeply traditional mother, Milagros, her troubled and bedeviled brother, Voltaire, her wonderfully eccentric uncle, Marlon, and her best friend, the wildly unpredictable and enigmatic Keiko, along with other characters real and imagined, create a story that spans generations and cultures. Together they acquire spouses, lovers, companions, children, and in-laws, making a plac