Hi, I'm Lovar Burton and this is Lovar Burton Reads.

In every episode I handpick a different piece of short fiction and I read it to you.

The only thing these stories have in common is that I love them and I hope you will too.

I have always been drawn to fiction that encourages our introspection as individuals.

And I think especially lately, I've been attracted to literature that motivates us to look

at ourselves as humans and our behavior as an entire species.

And I think today's story does just that with a dose of dark humor.

It's called Room for Rent by Richie Narvaez and it was published in Latinx rising and

anthology of Latinx science fiction and fantasy.

Now Richie was born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and grew up wanting to be the

first Puerto Rican astronaut and instead became a teacher and a writer of noir, mystery,

speculative fiction and nonfiction as well.

He's the author of the gentrification thriller Hipster Death Rattle and his latest book

is The Young Adult Mystery, Holly Hernandez and The Death of Disco.

Now about the story.

Our protagonist, Hala, is pregnant and looking for a place to live with her growing family

and I don't want to give too much away about the plot but it's about colonialism really

and perspective and maybe above all about empathy.

Oh and if you're squeamish, you might want to check out the content advisory in the written

description of the show.

Just saying.

So if you're ready, let's take a deep breath.

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