Outside the Bones - Softcover

LYN DI IORIO grew up in Puerto Rico and came to the Mainland to attend Harvard University, from which she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She received her master's degree from Stanford University's Creative Writing Program and her doctorate in English literature from the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches literature and creative writing at The City College of New York and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.  She is also the author of scholarly books on Latino literature.  Outside the Bones was named BEST DEBUT NOVEL by a Latino writer on the 2011 Latinidad Best Books list.

"At its heart OUTSIDE THE BONES is the story of a spiritual seeker, with the funniest, most rambunctious and irreverent seeker you’ll ever find in such a context."
THE PHILADELPHIA REVIEW OF BOOKS

"The high octane, hilarious, sexy, and strikingly original voice in Lyn Di Iorio's OUTSIDE THE BONES will take you for a ride you will not soon forget...  OUTSIDE THE BONES is first and foremost a page-turner."
Peter Grandbois in RAIN Taxi

"In Outside the Bones [Di Iorio] lets fly with a brash and impulsive voice that never lets up.  The sheer energy of the narrative perfectly matches Fina's passionate spirit.  This novel will resonate with fans of Oscar Hijuelos' The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz."  --ForeWord Reviews

"A story of witchcraft, voodoo, race, greed, and power, Outside the Bones blends them all into a very unique and highly entertaining brew that will be hard to put down." --The Midwest Book Review

"Sometimes it's almost impossible to tell whether a book is an author's first.  And in this case, Lyn Di Iorio writes as if she has a dozen novels to her credit. There is an appealing darkness to this novel as it draws the reader into a world of black magic." --2012 Top Ten Latino Authors to Watch (and Read), LatinoStories.com 

"Come meet Fina, the irrepressible, hilarious, tough-talking heroine of Lyn Di Iorio's delightful first novel, Outside the Bones. Written with humor and verve, no small amount of magic and the sassy supernatural, this no-holds barred story will grab you by the lapels and not let you go." --Cristina Garcia, author of The Lady Matador's Hotel

"Utilizing rhythmic prose and enchanting humor, Lyn Di Iorio has written a brilliant love story full of magical urbanism that is sure to make Outside the Bones a modern-day classic." --Ernesto Quinonez, author of Chango's Fire and Bodega Dreams

"Toni Morrison meets Alexander McCall Smith on Manhattan's Upper West Side in this brilliant tale of ghosting and rescue by Di Iorio's unlikely heroine. Driven by raw humor, a wonderful eroticism and a laser ear, the author listens in on Fina's world and shares observations as powerful as the noise from the cauldron." --Catherine E. McKinley, author of Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World


Lyn Di Iorio's first novel is a weirdly compelling, funny, sexy, and deeply strange tale of a Nuyorican practitioner of Palo Monte. [Di Iorio] has taken the crime story to a strange and mysterious new place. Adventurous readers interested in Afro-Caribbean culture will want to follow her there. --Mystery Scene Magazine

"At its heart OUTSIDE THE BONES is the story of a spiritual seeker, with the funniest, most rambunctious and irreverent seeker you’ll ever find in such a context." --The Philadelphia Review of Books

"The high octane, hilarious, sexy, and strikingly original voice in Lyn Di Iorio's OUTSIDE THE BONES will take you for a ride you will not soon forget... OUTSIDE THE BONES is first and foremost a page-turner." --Rain Taxi